UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA    PUBLICATIONS 
AMERICAN    ARCHAEOLOGY   AND    ETHNOLOGY 

Vol.  7  No.   1 


THE   EMERYVILLE   SHELLMOUND 


BY 

MAX   UHLE 


BERKELEY 

THE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

JUNE,  1907 


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UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA    PUBLICATIONS 


Vol.  7 


AMERICAN    ARCHAEOLOGY   AND     ETHNOLOGY 


NO.   1 


THE   EMERYVILLE   SHELLMOUND. 


BY 

MAX  UHLE. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Part  I.     General  Eepokt  on  the  Excavations  Conducted  by  Pro- 
fessor John  C.  Merriam  and  Dr.  Max  Uhle  in  the  Spring  of 

1902   1 

Introduction    2 

Early  Settlements  in  the  Region  5 

Early  References  to  Sliellmounds  of  Middle  California  6 

The  Nature  of  the  Excavations  7 

The  Base  of  the  Mound  9 

The  Internal  Structure    14 

Constituents  of  the  Mound   16 

Shells   : Ig 

Bones    Ig 

Fireplaces   19 

Human  Remains  and  EeKcs  19 

Burials     21 

Age  of  the  Mound  30 

Cultural  Stages  Represented  36 

Part  2.     Artifacts  Unearthed  at  the  Emeryville  Shellmound  42 

A.  Implements  of  Stone  42 

a.  Made  by  Grinding  42 

1.  Mortars  42 

2.  Flat  Stones   46 

3.  Pestles    47 

4.  Hammer-like  Stones    49 

5.  Flat  Stones  Pointed  at  Both  Ends  50 

.6.  Sinker-like  Stones    50 

7.  Cylindrical  Stones    56 

8.  Needle-like  Stone  Implements  57 

9.  Tobacco  Pipes  57 

10.  Various  Polished  Stones  59 

b.  Chipped  Stones  61 


Univerniti/  of  Calif  ornia  Publicutions  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Etiin.      [Vol.  7 

PAGE 

B.  Utensils  of  Bone,  Horn,  and  the  Teeth  of  Animals  66 

Implements  of  bone    66 

1.  Awl-like  Tools  „ 66 

a.  Common  awls    67 

b.  Blunt  AMl-like  Implements    69 

c.  Flat  Awl-like  Implements  69 

2.  Needle-like  Implements    70 

a.  Straight  Needles  without  Perforation  70 

b.  Curved  Needles  70 

c.  Needles  mth  Eyes  70 

d.  Long  Crooked  Needles  70 

3.  Eough  Awl-like  Implements  of  the  Lower  Strata  71 

4.  Implements  of  the  Shape  of  Paper-cutters  72 

5.  Pointed  Implements  74 

6.  Saw-like  Notched  Bones  76 

7.  Various  Implements  and  Objects  of  Bone  79 

Implements  of  Antler  80 

1.  Chisel-like  Implements  80 

a.  Actual  Chisels  80 

b.  Chisel-like  Implements  of  Varying  Forms    81 

2.  Implements  of  Antler  with  Dull  Rounded  Ends  82 

3.  Pointed  Implements  82 

4.  Straight  Truncated  Implements    82 

Implements  of  Teeth    83 

C.  Implements  Made  of  Shells  83 


Introduction. 

California  has  but  few  characteristic  archaeological  remains 
such  as  are  found  in  the  mounds  of  the  Mississippi  valley  or  the 
ancient  pueblos  and  cliff-dweller  ruins  of  the  South.  In  the  shell- 
mounds  along  this  section  of  the  Pacific  coast  it  possesses,  how- 
ever, valuable  relics  of  very  ancient  date.  These  are  almost  the 
only  witnesses  of  a  primitive  stape  of  culture  which  once  obtained 
among  the  early  inhabitants  of  this  region. 

Some  years  ago  Professor  Merriam  recognized  the  necessity  of 
exploring  these  ancient  mounds  and  represented  the  facts  to  the 
University  of  California.  Mrs.  Phoebe  A.  Hearst  generously 
made  the  undertaking  po.ssible  by  providing  am]')le  financial  sup- 
port for  the  exploration  work. 

One  of  the  largest  and  best  presei-ved  shell  mounds  was  selected 


1907]  Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmound.  3 

as  the  object  of  the  present  investi(;atioii,  which  was  entrusted 
to  Professoi"  IMeiJ'iani  and  the  writer.  The  mound  selected  is  sit- 
uated on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  at  Sheil- 
niound  Station  near  Emeryville,  and  is  commonly  known  as  the 
Emeryville  mound.  At  present  it  forms  a  conspicuous  feature 
of  the  recreation  {^rounds  known  as  Shellmound  Park  (pi.  1). 

The  water  of  the  bay  rises  to  within  130  feet  of  the  base  of 
the  mound  (pi.  3)  during  high  tide.  The  beach  is  then  only  one 
foot  above  the  water  level,  while  the  ground  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  mound  is  from  two  to  three  feet  higher.  This 
ground  is  quite  level  and  forms  a  part  of  an  extensive  alluvial 
flat.  A  small  creek,  having  its  source  about  three  miles  away,  in 
the  hills  back  of  Berkeley,  passes  the  mound  on  its  south  side,  at 
a  distance  of  two  hundred  feet,  and  empties  into  the  bay.  In 
summer  the  creek  runs  dry,  but  its  bed  furnishes  a  channel  for 
subterranean  water.  Another,  lower  mound,  containing  graves, 
lay  on  the  site  of  the  Emeryville  race-track  near  by,  but  it  has 
been  leveled  down  during  the  construction  of  the  track.  The 
shellmound  which  was  the  object  of  the  excavation  has  the  form 
of  a  truncated  cone,  with  a  diameter  of  270  feet  at  its  base  and 
145  feet  at  the  top,  and  rising  27  feet  above  the  plain.  On  the 
north  side  its  foot  extends  100  feet  farther  over  the  flat,  a  few 
feet  higher  than  the  level  of  the  ground  about  it. 

Twenty-five  or  thirty  years  ago  the  shore  line  of  the  bay  lay 
fifty  feet  farther  out ;  a  pile  set  at  that  time  is  still  to  be  seen  at 
that  distance  from  the  beach.  It  is  above  the  water  during  high 
tide  and  marks  the  coast  line  on  this  side  of  which  floodland  was 
sold  by  the  State.  The  top  of  the  mound  was  not  at  that  time 
crowned  by  the  wooden  pavilion  ^^•hich  is  there  at  the  present 
time.  It  was  still  ungraded,  having  its  natural  conical  form,  and 
was  covered  with  a  wild  growth  of  bushes  and  brambles.  The 
creek,  as  yet  unregulated,  followed  its  own  course  and  overflowed 
the  land,  causing  it  to  become  marshy.  In  the  seventies  and 
eighties  of  the  last  century,  railroad  tracks  were  laid  along  the 
eastern  side  of  the  mound,  and  took  in  a  section  of  its  eastern 
foot.  At  that  time  a  number  of  graves  and  Indian  artifacts  were 
discovered.  Few  of  these,  however,  found  their  way  into  the 
collections  of  the  liniversitv.  then  but  recentlv  founded. 


UNIV.   CAL    PUB,  AM.  ARCH.  &  ETH. 


VOL.   7,    PL.    I 


Map  of  the  east  shore  of  San  Francisco  Bay  in  the  vicinity  of  Boikcley, 
showing  the  location  of  the  Emeryville  Slu'llniound  with  several  others  in 
this  rogion.     Scale:  1  inch  =  about  three  miles. 


1907]  Vhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmound. 


Early  Settlements  in  the  Region. 

Fages,  the  first  traveler  who  passed  through  the  country,  from 
south  to  north,  traveled  along  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Bay  of  San 
Francisco  in  1774,^  and  came  upon  Indian  settlements  where  he 
found  a  friendly  welcome.  His  account  of  this  expedition,  how- 
ever, fails  to  throw  any  light  upon  the  question  whether  or  not 
the  shellmounds  were  still  occupied  at  that  time.  The  neighbor- 
ing creek  bears  the  name  of  "Temescal"  from  a  region  between 
Berkeley  and  Oakland  through  which  it  passes.-  This  name  ap- 
pears to  be  a  mutilation  of  the  Nahua  word  "temazcalli,"  hot- 
house, the  name  of  sweat-houses  in  Mexico,  and  the  place  may 
have  been  so  named  by  Mexicans  living  on  the  Bay,  from  an 
Indian  sweat-house  standing  there.  Hence  it  may  be  assumed 
that  an  Indian  settlement  was  in  existence  on  the  banks  of  this 
creek  at  a  time  from  which  the  name  could  pass  over  into  the 
existing  vocabulary. 

Other  evidences  of  early  Indian  settlements  in  this  section  of 
the  eastern  shore  country  of  the  Bay  are  the  shellmounds,  twelve 
of  which  may  be  found  along  the  coast  between  Point  Richmond 
and  Alameda  in  a  stretch  of  twelve  miles  (pi.  1).  They  may  be 
seen  near  Point  Richmond  upon  the  eastern  side,  facing  the 
peninsula,  upon  Brooks  Island,  near  Ellis  Landing,  northeast 
from  Stege  upon  a  marshy  ground  intersected  by  narrow  chan- 
nels, near  Seaver's  Ranch  to  the  west  from  Stege,  on  Point  Isabel, 
in  West  Berkeley,  in  Emeryville,  and  in  the  eastern  section  of 
Alameda  between  ]\Iound,  Central,  and  Lincoln  avenues.  There 
is  also  said  to  have  been  one  in  East  Oakland  on  the  canal  be- 
tween Oakland  Harbor  and  Lake  Merritt,  but  it  has  disappeared 
owing  to  building  over  that  section  of  ground.  In  all  probability 
many  others  may  have  met  with  a  similar  fate. 

All  these  evidences  of  an  early  occupation  of  the  country  are 
but  a  few  of  the  mounds  that  skirt  the  Bay  upon  all  sides,  con- 
tinuing along  Suisun  Bay  and  the  Sacramento  and  Feather  rivers. 
Besides  these,  there  are  numerous  mounds  dotting  the  coast  land 

'  Cf.  H.  H.  Bancroft,  The  Native  Races,  1886,  II,  p.  595. 
-  Cf .  also  "San  Francisco  Quadrangle"  with  the  topographical  maps  of 
California  by  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey. 


6  University  of  Calif ornia  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.    [Vol.  7 

of  Northern  California,  those  surrounding  swamps  and  rivers 
along  the  Tulare  and  Kern  lakes  in  southern  California,^'  and 
on  the  shore  near  Santa  Cruz.  Others  are  found  in  the  regions 
of  San  Luis  Obispo,*  of  Santa  Barbara, =  and  the  islands  opposite 
that  place. 

Early  References  to  Shellmounds  of  Middle  Californlv. 

All  the  publications  treating  of  the  shellmounds  of  central 
and  northern  California,  which  from  the  nature  of  their  contents 
are  different  from  those  of  the  coast  and  the  islands  of  southern 
California,  may  be  condensed  into  the  following  bibliography : 

The  Smithsonian  Reports  of  1869  mention  a  collection  of  arti- 
facts from  the  shellmounds  of  Alameda  county  presented  to  the 
Institute  by  Dr.  Yates."  J.  W.  Foster,  in  1874,  speaks  of  a  news- 
paper notice  concerning  a  shellmound  in  the  region  of  San  Pablo.' 
James  Deans  follows  in  1876  with  a  short  notice  (together  Avith 
drawings  of  some  artifacts)  concerning  a  mound  between  Visi- 
taeion  Valley  and  Point  Bruno  on  the  western  shore  of  the  Bay.® 
A  short  notice  by  H.  H.  Bancroft,  accompanied  by  views  of  four 
objects,  points  to  the  great  historical  value  of  the  shellmounds. 

^  Warren  K.  Moorehead,  Prehistoric  Implements,  1900,  p.  258. 

*  Paul  Schumacher,  Smithson.  Eeports,  1874,  p.  335  S. 

°  Schumacher,  Bulletin  of  the  U.  S.  Geol.  and  Geogr.  Survey  of  the  Ter- 
ritories (F.  V.  Hayden),  1877,  III,  p.  73  ff. ;  F.  W.  Putnam,  Eeports  upon 
Archaeological  and  Ethnological  Collections  from  vicinity  of  Santa  Barbara, 
Cal.,  etc.;  Report  upon  U.  S.  Geogr.  Surveys  west  of  the  100th  Meridian  (G. 
M.  "Wheeler),  1879,  VII,  Ai-chaeology.  From  more  northern  sections  of  the 
Pacific  Coast  may  be  mentioned  specifically  the  shellmounds  of  Oregon  (P. 
Schumacher,  Bulletin,  J.  c),  of  Vancouver,  and  of  the  mainland  of  British 
(Jolumbia  opposite  (H.  H.  Bancroft,  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States, 
1886,  IV,  p.  739),  also  those  upon  the  Aleutian  Islands,  explored  exhaus- 
tively by  W.  H.  Dall  (in  U.  S.  Geogr.  and  Geol.  Survey  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain Region,  J.  W.  Powell,  Contributions  to  the  North  American  Ethnology, 
1877,  1,  p.  41  fP.).  Together  with  those  of  California  these  shellmounds  are 
an  important  counterpart  to  those  found  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  found 
from  Nova  Scotia  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  as  well  as  in  the  river  valleys  of 
nearly  all  the  southern  states  (Charles  C.  Abbott,  Primitive  Industry,  1881, 
p.  439;  Short,  The  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  1892,  p.  lOG),  and  almost 
all  of  which  have  Vjeen  carefully  stuilied  in  some  of  their  aspects,  although 
not  yet  conclusively. 

"Smithson.  Reports,  1869,  p.  36. 

'  Prehistoric  races  of  the  United  States  of  America,  1874,  p.  103. 

'Journal  of  the  Anthropological  Inst,  of  Great  Britain  and  Froland,  1876, 
V,  p.  489.    Tiie  majority  of  these  shellmounds  have  been  grmlcd  down. 


1007]  Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellinound.  7 

The  Marquis  de  Nndaillac  in  his  well  known  work  mentions  the 
shellmounds  in  the  vicinity  of  San  Francisco.^  Moorehead  in  his 
work  gives  a  few  remarks  on  excavations  in  shellmounds  of  cen- 
tral California. 

The  Nature  of  the  Excavations. 

The  woi'k  of  exploration  was  commenced  by  Professor  Mer- 
i-iam  find  the  vrriter  in  February,  1902,  toward  the  end  of  the 
rainy  sea.son,  and  was  finished  early  in  May.  Captain  Siebe,  the 
proprietor  of  Shellmound  Park,  gave  all  possible  assistance  in 
the  investigation.  Owing  to  the  presence  of  the  circle  of  trees 
around  the  truncated  top  of  the  mound  it  was  necessary  to  con- 
fine the  excavations  to  a  lateral  section  and  a  tunnel  extending 
from  it  toward  the  center  of  the  mound.  However  desirable  a 
more  extended  section  through  the  hill  might  have  been,  the  re- 
sults obtained  in  these  partial  excavations  are  as  a  whole  similar 
to  those  which  would  have  been  obtained  by  a  cut  through  the 
entire  mound. 

The  western  slope  of  the  mound,  facing  the  bay,  was  selected 
as  the  starting  point  for  the  operations.  The  entire  work  of  ex- 
cavation may  in  a  chronological  order  be  divided  into  the  follow- 
ing four  stages. 

^1.  The  first  lateral  cutting  in  the  mound.  This  was  made 
in  the  western  foot  of  the  mound,  seven  feet  and  a  half  above  the 
level  of  the  bay  and  at  a  distance  of  fifty  feet  from  the  plateau. 
The  trench  was  two  feet  deep,  eighteen  feet  long  and  six  feet 
wide,  its  floor  sloped  towards  the  center  of  the  mound. 

B.  Tunnel  construction.  The  tunnel  formed  the  under- 
ground continuation  of  the  trench ;  it  was  the  means  of  reaching 
the  interior  of  the  mound  and  doM^n  to  its  original  base.  Hence 
the  floor  of  the  tunnel  was  made  to  slope  steeply  inward.  The 
tunnel  was  extended  from  the  end  of  the  trench  A  for  forty-tAvo 
feet  into  the  interior  of  the  mound,  and  at  its  terminal  point  it 
sank  to  two  feet  below  the  level  of  the  bay.  It  was  five  feet  wide 
and  six  and  a  half  feet  high.  Several  distinct  strata  were  cut 
through  by  the  tunnel  section.  Eleven  feet  of  the  length  of  the 
tunnel  extended  under  the  plateau  of  the  mound.    This  was  still 

'  Prehistoric  America,  ed.  by  W.  H.  Dall,  1885,  p.  50. 


8  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

sixty  feet  from  the  vertical  center  of  the  hill  (pi.  4),  but  the 
observations  made  in  this  interior  part  of  the  mound  were  of 
a  relatively  greater  value  than  those  of  the  outer  zone.  Many 
difficulties  were  met  during  the  construction  of  the  tunnel,  among 
which  the  porosity  of  the  soil  was  one  of  the  worst.  The  tunnel 
was  therefore  timbered  and  its  sides  sheathed.  Another  difficulty 
was  the  ground  water,  of  which  there  was  often  a  very  strong  flow 
when  digging  in  the  lower  part  of  the  tunnel.  According  to  the 
advance  of  the  season,  it  was  encountered  at  different  depths,  and 
it  grew  less  with  the  approach  of  summer.  A  small  hand  pump 
was  used  to  exhaust  this  water,  but  it  barely  answered  the  pur- 
pose, and  it  was  often  with  great  difficulty  that  the  inrushing 
water  could  be  mastered. 

C.  The  upper  vertical  cut  of  the  entire  mound.  In  order  to 
obtain  a  view  of  all  the  strata  contained  in  the  mound  this  section 
was  undertaken.  The  lowest  parts  of  the  mound  having  been 
thoroughly  explored  by  the  construction  of  the  tunnel,  it  was  now 
sufficient  to  make  the  upper  sectional  cut  only  as  deep  as  the  roof 
of  the  tunnel,  while  its  terminal  point  was  fixed  by  the  circle  of 
trees  on  the  sunnnit  of  the  mound.  Its  greatest  length  from  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel  was  twenty-six  feet.  The  sides  of  the  cut 
were  sloped  in  order  to  prevent  the  fall  of  loose  soil  and  to  avoid 
the  cost  of  timbering.  The  length  of  this  section  at  its  lower  end, 
near  b  (pi.  4),  was  reduced  from  26  feet  to  19  feet,  and  the  width 
to  10  feet  along  the  entire  foot  of  the  trench  from  a^^  to  b.  In 
pi.  5  there  is  shown  the  first  cut  into  the  mound,  before  it  had  been 
made  wider  by  five  feet  throughout  its  length.  In  making  this  cut 
the  earth  was  removed  stratum  by  stratum.  For  want  of  other 
marks  of  division,  the  dividing  lines  of  the  various  strata  (I  to 
VII)  were  chosen  arbitrarily  from  the  several  visible  lines  of 
structure,  and  they  are  marked  in  the  diagram,  pi.  4,  by  asterisks. 
In  order  to  obtain  a  uniform  classification  of  the  contents  of  the 
mound  it  was  thought  necessary  to  introduce  the  same  lines  of 
division  in  the  .sectional  diagram  of  the  tunnel ;  objects  found 
there  had  been  marked  previously  by  the  distance  of  their  posi- 
tion  from   the  month   of  the  tnnnel   and   their  relative  height. 


'"  a  seeniB  to  have  been  situatod  at  the  intersection  of  the  dotted  lines 
separating  divisions  A,  B,  C,  pi.  4,  fif(.  L'.— Editor. 


1907J  Uhle. — llie  Emeryville  Shellmound.  9 

These  strata  in  conformity  with  the  numbering^  of  the  upper  ones 
Avere  marked  as  numbers  VII  to  X. 

D.  A  series  of  pits  was  cIujj:  from  the  foot  of  the  tunnel  out 
to  the  bay  shore.  The  pits  were  made  in  order  to  ascertain  the 
general  outline  of  the  base  of  the  mound  under  the  cuts  already 
made,  as  well  as  under  the  unexcavated  portion  of  the  mound 
farther  out  toward  its  margin.  The  pits  are  marked  as  h  in  the 
interior  of  the  mound,  and  as  i,  k,  I,  m,  toward  its  periphery. 
The  two  pits  n  and  d^^  are  situated  on  the  outside  of  the  super- 
ficial foot  of  the  mound,  at  a  distance  of  35  feet  and  67  feet  from 
the  nearest  pit,  m.  It  was  here  seen  that  the  terminal  point  of  the 
foot  of  the  mound  lay  between  the  pits  n  and  o,  the  pit  near  n 
showing  only  the  debris  of  the  shellmound,  while  that  near  o  re- 
vealed nothing  of  it.  These  two  pits  were  connected  by  a  trench, 
which  gave  an  exceedingly  interesting  section  of  the  margin  of 
the  mound. 

The  Base  of  the  Mound. 

The  mound  consists  mainly  of  a  mass  of  broken  or  entire 
shells,  ashes,  bits  of  charcoal,  and  some  artifacts.  This  mass  ex- 
tends far  above  the  surface  of  the  surrounding  land  and  ends 
two  and  a  half  feet  below  the  level  of  the  ground  water  and  two 
feet  below  the  general  tide  level  of  the  bay,  and  rests  immediately 
upon  a  sharply  defined  yellowish  alluvial  clay  stratum.  There  is 
no  indication  of  a  rocky  elevation  which  might  have  served  as  an 
inducement  for^'the  original  settlement,  and  would  have  helped 
to  raise  the  mound  to  its  present  height.  Some  of  the  charcoal 
and  small  boulders  brought  here  by  man  rest  upon  the  clay  soil. 
A  slight  discoloration  of  the  upper  line  of  the  clay  stratum  may 
have  been  caused  by  a  transitory  plant  growth  during  some  early 
period,  while  there  is  no  indication  of  a  crust  of  good  soil  which 
would  be  a  sign  of  a  longer  period  of  vegetable  growth  upon  it. 

The  base  of  the  mound  is  horizontal  according  to  all  indica- 
tions gained  between  pits  h  and  m.  A  slight  variation  of  the 
level  of  the  ground  near  h  of  but  a  few  inches  does  not  mate- 
rially change  this  level.    Between  m  and  n,  however,  the  original 


"■*  Pit  o  referred  to  in  the  text  seems  to  be  represented  in  pi.  4,  fig.  1,  by 
the  west  end  of  the  cut  extending  from  n  to  I. — Editor. 


10        University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

soil  lies  one  foot  and  seven  inches  lower  for  a  distance  of  thirty- 
five  feet,  and  from  n  to  o  the  level  drops  a  foot  lower.  The 
mound  was  originally  founded  upon  a  site  rising  two  feet  above 
the  adjacent  ground  on  its  western  side.  A  gravel  stratum  of 
8  inches  in  thickness  near  o,  and  of  4  inches  near  p,  but  disap- 
pearing towards  n,  covered  the  clay  which  originally  sloped  to 
the  west.  This  gravel  stratum  was  examined  by  Professor  Law- 
son  and  considered  to  be  probably  a  fresh-water  deposit  and  not 
a  deposit  formed  in  the  bay,  as  the  gravel  is  more  or  less  angular 
instead  of  much  Avater-worn.  The  mound  terminates  near  p,  177 
feet  from  its  center,  where  it  runs  to  a  point  between  layers  of 
clay,  which  are  above  and  beloAV  it  (pi.  4,  fig.  1).  It  rises  again 
toward  the  outside  for  the  last  17  feet  measured  from  the  depres- 
sion n,  the  difference  being  one  and  one-quarter  feet,  thus  varying 
from  the  rest  of  the  base  which  inclines  to  the  west.  A  stratum 
of  ferruginous  clay,  the  same  as  that  underlying  the  base  of  the 
mound,  is  here  inserted  between  the  gravel  stratum  and  the  char- 
acteristic mixture  of  which  the  mound  is  composed,  and  covers  it 
up  even  with  the  present  surface  of  the  soil.  This  raises  the 
actual  height  of  the  shellraound  from  27  feet  to  32  feet  and  the 
actual  diameter  to  at  least  310  feet  instead  of  270  feet.  The 
volume  of  the  mound,  measured  as  a  truncated  cone,  may  be  esti- 
mated as  being  55,000  cubic  yards,  or  about  39,000  cubic  meters.^** 

'*  The  shellraounds  in  the  ^'icinity  of  the  bay  differ  considerably  in  shape 
and  size.  The  majority  appear  as  extended  plateaus  10  to  12  feet  in  height, 
others  appear  as  slight  undulations  of  the  ground  about  five  feet  in  height. 
The  truncated  conical  form  is  found  more  rarely;  the  mound  at  Kllis  Land- 
ing near  Point  Richmond  approaches  it  somewhat  in  its  proportions.  Many 
of  these  mounds  cover  acres  of  ground,  e.g.,  the  mounds  of  Alameda,  of 
Sausalito,  of  Sierra  Point,  of  West  Berkeley  (in  its  older  form,  now  much 
changed).  In  tropical  regions  many  shellmounds  are  said  to  reach  a  height 
of  100  feet  or  more;  this  is  known  with  certainty  of  some  in  Brazil  (cf.  Na- 
daillac,  I.  c,  p.  54),  and  also  of  two  near  the  dried-up  mouth  of  the  lea  river 
in  Peru.  Shellmounds  as  a  rule  are  much  smaller.  On  the  Atlantic  coast 
near  Smyrna  a  shellmound  is  said  to  be  thirty  feet  high  (Short,  I.  c,  p.  107), 
but  the  majority  of  these  mounds  are  less  than  four  feet  high  (cf.  Wyman, 
Amor.  Naturalist,  18(58,  I,  p.  56  ff.,  and  Abbott,  I.  c,  p.  440),  while  many  of 
them  extend  over  areas  of  more  than  two  or  three  acres.  A  shellmound  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Altamalia  river  in  Florida  is  estimated  as  having  a  size  of 
over  80,000  cubic  yards  (Smithson.  Hep.,  lS(i(5,  j).  ^5H).  The  shellmounds  of 
Denmark  Jire  only  from  H  feet  to  10  feet  high,  although  more  than  a  thou- 
sand feet  long  (Kanke,  Der  Mensch,  TI,  p.  552).  Soutliern  ('alifornia  shell- 
mounds generally  are  from  4  feet  to  5  feet  high  (P.  Schumacher,  Bull.,  I.  c, 
p.  ?)%;  and  Smithson.  Kep.,  1874  ,p.  337,  etc.).  The  same  is  the  case  with 
those  mounds  on  the  Aleutian  Islands  explored  by  W.  J.  Dall.  Tn  Oregon 
there  are  some  of  at  least  8  feet  in  height  (cf.  Schumacher,  I.  c,  p.  29). 


1907]  Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmound.  11 

From  what  we  know  of  the  situation  it  is  obvious  that  the 
mound  was  founded  upon  firm  though  still  somewhat  marshy- 
land,  near  the  bay  shore  and  close  to  the  creek.  The  latter  was 
the  occasion  of  its  location'^  at  this  place.  The  ground  must  have 
been  dry,  since  a  gently  rising  slope  was  selected.  The  soil  was 
alluvial  and  relatively  new,  since  it  has  no  overlying  cover  of 
good  earth,  yet  it  must  have  been  dry  long  enough  to  allow  a  thin 
growth  of  vegetation  to  cover  it,  causing  the  slight  gray  discolor- 
ation of  this  stratum. 

The  situation  of  the  base  of  the  mound  two  feet  below  the 
water  level  cannot  be  explained  on  the  assumption  that  refuse 
from  a  pile  dwelling  had  been  the  first  cause  of  its  formation. 
This  theory  w^ould  presuppose  modes  of  living  to  be  followed  by 
the  Indians  of  this  coast  for  which  there  is  no  parallel  elsewhere, 
and  which  are  not  borne  out  by  other  evidence  obtained  in  the 
study  of  the  mound.  If  the  mound  has  not  risen  from  the  water, 
then  the  former  land  surface  must  have  sunk.  The  mound  could 
not  possibly  have  sunk  below  the  water  level  from  its  own  weight, 
for  the  original  ground  underneath  it  is  still  several  feet  higher 
than  that  to  the  west,  for  instance,  near  n,  and  sections  of  the  base 
upon  which  the  full  weight  of  the  mound  rested,  such  as  near  h, 
are  on  the  same  level  with  others  over  which  the  mound  rose  only 
14  feet.  Since  the  sinking  of  the  mound  has  not  been  brought 
about  by  local  causes,  it  must  have  been  caused  by  a  general  sub- 
sidence of  this  coast  region.  Similar  subsidences  of  the  coast,  due 
probably  to  sliding  motions,  are  frequent  phenomena  on  alluvial 
coasts.^-     Evidences  of  this  are  furnished   apparently  by   the 


"  Shellmoimds  in  the  bay  region  are  mostly  in  localities  where  there  is 
fresh  water,  a  creek  or  a  spring,  generally  the  former.  W.  H.  Dall  (Contri- 
butions, p.  34)  observes  that  for  the  formation  of  shellmounds  on  the  Aleu- 
tian Islands  two  conditions  are  necessary,  as  a  rule:  running  water  or  a 
spring,  and  a  site  suitable  for  boat  landing;  one  or  the  other  of  these  condi- 
tions lacking,  no  shellmounds  are  to  be  found.  In  Oregon  the  shellmounds 
are  generally  to  be  found  near  a  creek  (cf.  Schumacher,  I.  c,  p.  28).  The 
same  rule  probably  governs  the  shellmounds  of  the  East.  D.  G.  Brinton 
found  shellmounds  in  Florida  generally  near  running  water  (Smithsou.  Rep., 
1866,  p.  356),  but  he  supposes  as  the  cause  of  this  the  greater  abundance  of 
shells  near  the  mouths  of  rivers,  while  it  is  certain  that  the  presence  of  drink- 
ing water  was  the  main  attraction. 

"  Parts  of  the  eastern  coast  of  the  United  States  are  sinking.  Several 
shellmounds  on  the  Jersey  coast  are  being  washed  away  at  present  (cf.  Ab- 
bott, I.  c,  p.  448  flf.).  The  same  may  be  observed  with  the  shellmounds  near 
Ellis  Landing  on  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco. 


12         University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  7 

shores  of  San  Francisco  Bay.^^  The  ground  under  the  mound 
having  a  slope  of  two  feet,  it  may  be  assumed  that  the  original 
foundation  of  the  base  was  at  least  one  foot  above  tide  level. 
Accordingly  the  coast  must  have  sunk  three  feet  since  the  for- 
mation of  this  mound. ^*  This  sinkage  w-as  leveled  up  again  to 
its  former  height  by  later  alluvial  deposits,  in  consequence  of 
which  the  originally  dry  base  of  the  mound  is  now  situated  two 
feet  below  the  level  of  the  bay,  while  the  surrounding  flats  are 
three  feet  above  it. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  younger  alluvial  deposit,  near  o 
(pi.  4)  has  a  thickness  of  six  feet. 

Samples  of  soil  taken  from  various  parts  of  the  clay  stratum 
underlying  the  base  of  the  mound  were  subjected  by  Professor 
W.  A.  Setchell  to  microscopical  examinations,  but  no  Diatoms 
were  found  in  any  of  them.  Hence  those  strata  were  probably 
formed  of  alluvial  deposits  of  the  creek,  as  Professor  Lawson  had 
at  first  suggested,  and  not  of  deposits  of  the  bay.  This  finding  is 
entirely  in  accordance  with  the  origin  of  the  gravel  stratum  as 
above  stated. 

The  slope  of  the  mound  was  an  obstacle  to  the  course  of  the 
creek  when  it  became  swollen.  In  the  natural  course  of  things  it 
deposited  a  bar  near  the  foot  of  the  mound,  which,  when  the  edge 
of  the  latter  gradually  extended,  grew  out  over  this  new  obstacle. 
The  creek  in  the  same  manner  continued  to  heap  up  alluvial  de- 
posits against  the  latter.  The  horizontal  growth  of  the  mound 
and  the  vertical  growth  of  the  surrounding  land  took  place  simul- 
taneously. This  was  the  cause  of  the  brim-like  upward  curve  of 
the  edge  of  the  mound  as  seen  in  the  cross  section  (pi.  4).  While 
the  mound  increased  about  seventeen  feet  in  its  periphery,  the 
vertical  alluvial  accumulation  was  about  one  and  one-half  feet. 
Hence  the  base  of  the  mound  peripherally  increased  one  foot 
while  the  ground  grew  one  inch,  showing  that  the  alluvial  growth 
of  the  soil  was  much  slower  than  the  peripheral  growth  of  the 

"  Near  the  nioutli  of  the  valley  of  San  Eafael  a  small  hill  rises  from  the 
bay,  the  isolation  of  which  from  the  mainland  may  be  exi)]aine(l  in  this  way. 

"Between  the  shelinioiinds  of  Emeryville  and  West  Berkeley  the  shore 
for  a  Jong  stretch  forms  a  stcej)  bank  up  to  twelve  feet  high,  and  broken 
down  by  the  water  of  the  bay.  Possil)Iy  the  coast  at  this  point  formed  a  pro- 
montory on  the  two  sides  of  which  these  shellmoniids  were  originally  founded, 
as  in  sheltered  bays,  similar  to  other  mounds  of  this  region. 


1907]  Vhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmound.  13 

mound.  About  310  cubic  yards  or  240  cubic  meters  produce  a 
growth  of  one  foot  in  a  mound  9  feet  high  and  about  300  feet  in 
diameter  at  the  base.  If  the  peripheral  growth  of  the  mound  had 
continued  with  the  growth  of  the  soil,  the  foot  of  the  mound 
would  have  spread  out  so  that  the  outer  edge  would  rest  in  the 
highest  or  surface  layer  of  the  present  alluvium.  The  wedge- 
like margin  situated  between  alluvial  strata  is,  however,  proof 
that  its  peripheral  growth  ceased  a  long  time  before  the  termi- 
nation of  the  alluvial  accumulation  in  this  region,  as  a  result  of 
which  the  alluvium  has  spread  itself  over  the  foot  of  the  mound. 
The  alluvial  deposit  above  the  wedged-in  margin  of  the  mound 
(at  p)  being  3  feet  8  inches  in  thickness,  and  the  alluvium  depos- 
ited underneath  it  from  the  beginning  of  the  formation  of  the 
mound  measuring  only  li/^  feet,  and  assuming  the  increase  to 
have  been  absolutely  uniform,  a  period  two  and  a  half  times  as 
long  has  passed  since  the  ceasing  of  its  peripheral  growth,  a.s 
had  been  necessary  for  a  peripheral  growth  of  17  feet  on  each 
side.  The  cessation  of  this  peripheral  growth  of  the  mound,  how- 
ever, is  not  identical  with  the  cessation  of  its  growth  altogether. 
It  took  place  apparently  when  the  mound  began  to  grow  more 
acutely  conical  in  shape,  whereby  it  increased  to  twice  its  former 
volume.  Assuming  that  the  mound  was  abandoned  100  years  be- 
fore the  end  of  the  alluvial  growth  of  the  land  in  the  vicinity, 
then  according  to  formula 

100  X  %r  =  2yoX  Vsf 

it  might  be  concluded  that  the  mound  was  probably  600  years 
old  before  it  was  abandoned.^^  Several  numerical  values  upon 
which  the  formula  is  based  are  unfortunately  so  uncertain  that 
the  result  may  not  be  considered  as  more  than  suggestive  of  the 
possible  age. 

The  sinking  of  the  coast  and  the  alluvial  increase  of  the 
ground  since  the  first  settlement  of  the  mussel-eaters  would  in 
themselves  give  an  adequate  measure  for  an  estimate  of  the  age 
of  the  mound  if  the  measures  upon  which  both  depend  were  not 
also  unknown ;  according  to  Professor  Lawson,  this  probably  occu- 


'^  In  that  case  the  sinkage  would  have  amounted  to  about  6  inches,  the 
alluvial  increase  to  about  9  to  10  inches  in  a  century. 


14         University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  7 

pied  centuries  at  least. ^*''  At  any  rate,  such  observations  as  have 
been  made  furnish  good  reasons  for  believing  that  the  founding 
of  a  settlement  and  the  beginning  of  the  heaping  up  of  the  mound 
occurred  at  a  remote  date. 

The  Internal  Structure  of  the  Mound. 

The  principal  constituents  of  the  mound  are  the  shells.  These 
have  nearly  all  crumbled  into  small  fragments  and  are  slightly 
mixed  with  soil,  which  when  damp  gives  the  entire  mass  the  ap- 
pearance of  pure  soil.  When  this  is  flooded  with  water  the  wash- 
ing away  of  the  sand  produces  no  noticeable  change  in  its  volume. 
This  mass  has  mingled  with  it  bits  of  charcoal,  bones  of  animals, 
ashes  or  cinders,  and  stones  averaging  about  the  size  of  one's  fist 
and  blackened  by  fire.^^  Marks  of  stratification  may  be  traced 
through  almost  the  entire  mound.  Plate  5,  representing  a  photo- 
graphic view  of  the  excavation,  shows  the  stratification  planes  in 
the  walls  quite  distinctly.  The  strata  consist  of  compact  masses 
of  more  or  less  fragmentary  shells,  or  of  beds  of  ashes  or  cinders. 
In  many  cases  the  latter  seem  to  extend  through  the  entire  mound. 
They  are  sometimes  not  thicker  than  a  sheet  of  heavy  paper,  but 
show  the  general  direction  of  the  bedding  planes,  and  form  a 
clear  contrast  with  the  homogeneous,  dark  mass  of  broken  shells.^* 
These  planes  become  somewhat  less  distinct  in  the  deeper  strata. ^° 
As  in  other  shellmounds,-'^  there  were  observed  certain  rounded 
masses  of  shells  intersecting  the  lines  of  stratification.    These  are 

'"  The  rapidity  of  the  sinkage  of  alluvial  coasts  varies  greatly  owing  to 
local  conditions.  For  the  Atlantic  Coast  the  rate  of  sinkage  is  2  feet  per 
century  (cf.  Abbott,  I.  c,  p.  449).  Applying  this  same  rate  to  the  eastern 
coast  of  the  Bay,  we  would  arrive  at  the  absurd  result  that  the  shellmound  of 
Emeryville  had  begun  to  form  in  1750,  while  that  date  was  presumably  the 
end  of  its  occupied  state. 

"  The  descriptions  of  nearly  all  the  shellmounds  explored  in  other  parts 
of  the  world  tally  exactly  with  this  one;  cf.  Kanke,  I.  c,  II,  p.  532,  for  the 
Danish  Kjokkenmoddinger;  Schumacher,  on  the  general  similarity  of  sliell- 
mounds  of  the  Pacific  Coast  with  the  mounds  in  Denmark,  Smithson.  Eep., 
1874,  p.  355,  etc. 

'"  Although  no  sliolliiiound  is  free  from  stratification  marks,  owing  to  the 
grathial  growth  of  the  stT-ata,  Brinton  maintains  tliat  this  is  the  case  with 
shellmounds  on  the  Atlantic  Coast  (Smithson.  Rep.,  1866,  p.  356). 

"Compare  the  interesting  observations  of  Wyman  (Amer.  Naturalist,  I, 
p.  571)  concerning  shellmounds  of  New  England,  that  there  the  shells  of  the 
lowest  stratum  were  softer  and  more  cnimljlcd  tiian  those  of  tlie  upper  strata. 

""(If.  Wyman,  I.  c,  p.  36.5,  on  a  shellmound  in  the  vicinity  of  Portland, 
Me. 


1907]  Ulilc. — The  Emeryville  Slicllmound,  15 

caused  by  holes,  made  by  moles  or  other  burrowing  animals,  beinj; 
afterward  refilled  with  shells.'-^ 

In  some  shellmounds  in  other  regions  strata  of  earth  and  sand 
were  found  between  the  shell  layers.  These  give  evidence  of  a 
temporary  evacuation  of  the  shellmound.  No  evidence  of  this 
character  was  obtained  in  the  study  of  the  P^meryville  mound, 
where  the  only  occurrence  of  a  natural  vegetable  soil  is  the  sur- 
face cover  of  1  to  2  inches  in  thickness,  which  has  formed  since 
the  mound  was  finally  abandoned.--  It  is  possible  that  slight 
differences  in  the  state  of  preservation  of  the  shell  deposits  which 
now  mark  the  strata  lines  may  have  been  caused  by  differences  in 
the  length  of  time  of  occupation.  Other  explanations  might,  how- 
ever, be  offered. 

The  lines  of  stratification  mark  clearly  the  gradual  develop- 
ment of  the  strata  of  the  mound  from  the  base  until  the  present 
truncated  cone  was  formed.  It  is  apparent  that  two  different 
principles  governed  the  growth  of  the  mound.  At  certain  periods 
it  tended  to  take  on  a  shallow  plateau  form.  At  other  times 
a  conical  shape  developed  without  the  corresponding  increase 
around  the  base.  According  to  the  first  principle  the  mound 
grew  in  the  form  of  a  plateau  to  a  height  of  from  9  to  10  feet. 
Near  C  in  pi.  4  the  edge  of  the  plateau  still  seems  to  be  traceable, 
from  which  point  the  strata  inclined  downward.  At  that  period 
the  mound  resembled  in  its  proportions  the  old  Indian  camping 
places  of  the  interior  valley,  some  of  which  are  still  occupied ;  or 
some  of  the  shellmounds  along  the  Bay  which  have  been  aban- 
doned at  some  earlier  period.  The  undulating  lines  of  the  strata, 
such  as  seen  near  /'  and  g,  suggest  irregularities  of  the  old  pla- 
teau surface,  similar  to  those  which  may  be  observed  in  the 
surfaces  of  camp  locations  of  the  interior,  which  have  been  aban- 
doned for  decades.     The  hollows  from  20  to  40  feet  in  length 


-'  Similar  holes  made  by  moles  may  be  observed  occasionally  upon  old 
shellmounds  along  the  Bay,  which  if  they  had  been  refilled  with  shells  might 
also  have  assumed  a  rounded  form.  In  such  a  manner  may  be  explained  the 
finding  of  a  modern  steel  knife,  with  the  wooden  parts  still  well  preserved, 
in  one  of  the  strata  of  the  shellmound  of  West  Berkeley  in  a  place  to  all  ap- 
pearances undisturbed. 

^"  Cf .  also  Wyman,  /.  c,  p.  .571.  The  absence  of  true  soil  from  the  inte- 
rior of  the  mound  is  proof  that  at  no  time  was  the  mouml  abandoned  by  its 
occupants  long  enough  to  allow  of  the  formation  of  such  a  stratum. 


16         University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  7 

mark  the  sites  of  former  sweat-houses  or  council-halls;  these 
curves,  such  as  that  from  /  to  g,  may  have  a  similar  origin.-^ 

The  manner  in  which  the  mound  was  occupied  for  habitation 
varied  in  the  upper  strata.  With  the  growth  of  the  mound  the 
diameter  of  the  plateau  decreased  instead  of  expanding.  From 
line  b  upward  the  strata  incline  obliquely  toward  the  sides.  This 
change  in  the  manner  of  forming  the  mound  signifies  a  change 
in  the  character  of  its  occupants.  It  would  be  interesting  to  de- 
termine, if  possible,  the  exact  line  where  these  two  types  of 
growth  have  met.  It  might  have  been  about  12  feet  above  the 
base,  so  that  the  mound  grew  in  the  shape  of  a  shallow  plateau 
as  far  as  the  middle  of  stratum  V  in  pi.  4,  and  that  it  changed 
after  this  period  to  its  conical  form. 

Constituents  of  the  Mound. 

Shells. — The  shell  layers  of  the  mound  are  composed  princi- 
pally of  the  following  species : 
Oysters,  Ostrea  lurida. 

Mussel  shells,  Mytilus  edulis  and  Mytilus  calif ornianus. 
Clams,  Macoma  edulis  and  Macoma  nasuta. 

Many  other  kinds  of  shells,  including  the  following  species, 
were  found  scattered  through  the  mound : 
Purpura  crisyata  and  canaliculata. 
Cerithidea  calif ornica. 
Helix,  two  species  indet. 
Cardium  corbis. 
Standella,  sp. 
Tapes  staminea. 

Of  these  last  species,  the  cockle,  Cardimn  corbis,  and  the  clam, 
Tapes  staminea,  occur  quite  frequently.^*  All  of  these  were  used 
as  food  by  the  occupants  of  the  mound.  The  various  species  of 
Helix  were  probably  also  used,  as  they  were  in  more  recent  times 
eaten  by  the  California  Indians.^^  It  may  be,  however,  that  this 
species  lived  on  the  mound. 

"  Somewhat  smaller  but  quite  similar  hollows  are  still  preserved  upon  the 
surface  of  the  shellmound  of  Ellis  Landing,  and  are  doubtless  sites  of  houses 
of  that  nature. 

^  Eiglit-tenths  of  all  the  shells  found  in  the  Oregon  shellmounds  belong  to 
the  3i)ecies  of  Mytilus  calif  ornianus,  Tapes  staminea,  Cardium  nut  t  alii,  and 
Purpura  lactuca  (Schumacher,  Smithson.  Rep.,  1874,  p.  335). 

=*  As  by  the  Minooks  and  the  Nishinams  (Powers,  /.  c,  j)]).  .348  and  430)  ; 
and  certainly  the  custom  was  a  very  general  one. 


1907]  Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmound.  17 

The  state  of  preservation  of  the  shells  is  proportional  to  their 
natural  hardness.  Hence  the  shells  of  the  Macomas  are  the  most 
conspicuous,  those  of  the  mussels,  as  the  Tiicst  perishable,  are  the 
least  noticeable  ones  in  the  mound.  The  relative  frequency  of 
occurrence  in  the  case  of  the  three  most  important  species  de- 
pends on  different  circumstances. 

The  lower  and  the  upper  strata  of  this  mound  are  composed 
of  the  same  varieties  of  shells,  in  Avhich  point  it  is  different  from 
many  shellmounds  in  other  regions.  It  is,  however,  true  that 
oyster  shells  predominate  in  the  lower  strata,  while  Macoma  shells 
are  more  numerous  in  the  upper  ones.^*' 

Visiting  the  different  shellmounds  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Bay, 
one  finds  a  general  similarity  in  the  kinds  of  shells  composing 
them.  Rarely  one  or  another  variety  of  shell,  the  Macoma  or  the 
cockle,  or  some  other,  is  found  to  predominate.  This  general 
homogeneity  of  composition  in  the  shellmounds  around  the  Bay, 
and  the  small  differences  in  the  amount  of  any  particular  species, 
indicates  as  a  whole  the  general  similarity  of  the  shell  fauna  at 
many  points  about  the  Bay  during  the  period  of  occupation  of 
the  mounds. 

The  Indian  camping  grounds  in  the  interior,  although  quite 
similar  in  form  and  origin  to  the  shellmounds  on  the  coast,  when 
opened  generally  present  a  great  difference  in  appearance. 
Traces  of  shells  are  almost  unnoticed  from  the  outside,  yet  large 
quantities  supplied  as  food  by  the  rivers  of  the  interior  are  doubt- 
less to  be  found  in  them.  These  shells  have  been  found  during 
excavations,  or  their  use  has  been  confirmed  by  persons  who  ob- 
served the  mode  of  living  of  the  Indians  of  these  regions.  The 
Indians  also  obtained  salt-water  mussels  by  trade,  even  in  quite 
recent  times.  From  the  fact  that  shells  are  not  in  evidence  on 
the  surface  of  the  camp  grounds,  one  must  conclude  that  their 
use  diminished. 


-*'  We  were  not  so  fortunate  as  was  W.  H.  Dall  in  the  shellmounds  of  the 
Aleutian  Islands  in  being  able  to  make  "a  tolerably  uniform  division"  of 
the  layers  in  the  mound  according  to  the  various  foods  used.  (These  layers 
were :  "1,  Echinus  layer ;  2,  fishbone  layer ;  3,  hunting  layer. ' '  Contribu- 
tions to  North  American  Ethnology,  I,  p.  49.)  The  shellmound  of  Emery- 
ville presents  a  much  greater  similarity  in  the  kinds  of  food  used  during  the 
different  periods  of  its  occupancy. 


18        University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

Bones. — Bones  of  vertebrates  are  also  found  in  most  of  the 
shellmounds.  These  together  with  the  shells  represent  the  debris 
of  their  kitchens.  No  other  shellmound  has  been  seen  where  so 
large  a  quantity  of  bones  was  observed  as  in  that  at  Emeryville. 
Bones  of  land  and  sea  mammals,  of  birds,  and  of  fishes  were 
found  in  abundance  throughout  the  mound,  and  fairly  evenly 
distributed  in  the  strata.  This  fact  is  the  more  remarkable  since 
the  shellmound  at  West  Berkeley,  scarcely  two  miles  distant, 
does  not  yield  nearly  such  quantities  of  bone  as  this  one.  The 
occupants  of  the  mound  at  Emeryville  at  all  periods  were  hunts- 
men to  a  great  degree,  besides  being  fishermen;  those  of  the 
mound  at  West  Berkeley  seem  to  have  depended  largely  upon 
fishing ;  hence  the  stone  sinkers  were  far  more  numerous  in  that 
mound  than  at  Emeryville. 

So  far  the  fauna  of  only  the  lowest  strata  up  to  3  feet  above 
the  base  have  been  studied.  The  following  species  obtained  in 
this  horizon  were  determined  by  Dr.  W.  J.  Sinclair. 

Deer,  Cervus  sp. 

Elk,  Cervus  canadensis. 

Sea-otter,  Enhydrus  lutris. 

Beaver,  Castor  canadensis.-'' 

Squirrel,  SpermopJiilus  sp. 

Rabbit,  Lepus  sp. 

Gopher,  Thomomys  talpoides. 

Raccoon,  Procyon  lotor. 

Wild  cat.  Lynx  sp. 

Wolf,  Canis  sp. 

Bear,  Vrsus  sp. 

Dog,  Canis  familiaris.'^  {?) 

Seal,  Phoca  sp. 

Sea-lion. 

Whale. 

Porpoise? 

Canvasback  Duck,  Aythya  vallisneria. 

Goose? 

Cormorant,  Phlaeocorax  sp. 

Turtle. 

Skates,  Thornbacks,  and  other  fisli. 


"  Extinct  in  California,  and  in  fact  south  of  Washington ;  J.  Wytnan 
found  the  remains  of  elk,  wild  turkey,  and  large  auk  in  the  shellmounds  of 
New  England.  The  elk,  though  still  iu  existence,  is  no  longer  to  be  found 
east  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains;  the  wild  turkey  is  still  in  existence,  but  is 
not  to  be  found  in  New  England,  while  the  auk  lives  only  in  the  Arctic  re- 
gions, or  at  least  not  farther  south  than  the  northern  part  of  Newfoundland 
(Amer.  Naturalist,  I,  p.  .572). 

''Also  found  in  the  shellmounds  of  New  Enghmtl. 


1907]  Vhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmound.  19 

No  traces  of  cannibalism  have  been  detected.  Most  of  the 
hollow  bones  of  larger  nianinials,  and  even  the  smaller  bones  of 
the  foot,  were  found  to  have  been  split  to  get  at  the  marrow.-® 

Fireplaces. — These  were  generally  known  by  beds  several  feet 
in  length  consisting  of  charcoal  and  yellowish  ashes.  They  oc- 
curred in  many  spots  throughout  the  mound.  Numberless  scat- 
tered bits  of  charcoal""  and  pebbles,  mostly  about  the  size  of  one's 
fist  and  blackened  by  fire,  were  further  evidences  of  the  contin- 
uous use  of  fire  in  the  preparation  of  food.  In  no  instance  were 
there  any  stones  set  in  rows  for  fireplaces,  such  as  have  been  ob- 
served elsewhere,  as  in  a  shellmound  near  Sierra  Point,  where 
stones  are  plentiful."'^  A  very  peculiar  feature  of  this  mound  is  a 
yellowish  layer  of  ashes  comprising  the  entire  depth  of  stratum 
II  in  pi.  IV,  and  tapering  towards  the  edge  of  the  mound.  Above 
it  lies  only  the  uppermost  stratum  (I),  that  of  vegetable  soil. 
Though  calcined  shells^-  occurred  elsewhere  in  the  mound,  they 
were  especially  numerous  in  this  ash  stratum,  and  in  some  spots 
all  shells  were  calcined.  The  origin  of  this  ash  stratum  will  be 
explained  later.  A  similar  bed  is  to  be  seen  in  a  central  layer  of 
the  shellmound  at  West  Berkeley,  and  another  one  of  similar 
thickness  but  shorter  in  a  mound  near  Sausalito. 

Human  Remains  and  Belies. — A  large  part  of  the  Emeryville 
mound  consists  of  remains  which  have  been  deposited  here  by 
man.  Among  these  are  molluscan  shells  with  bones  of  fish  and 
mammals,  used  as  articles  of  food.  In  the  narrower  sense  the 
human  relics  consist  of  the  bones  of  man,  graves,  and  artifacts, 
which  are  all  found  in  greater  or  less  abundance  throughout  the 
whole  thickness  of  the  mound.  Actual  human  bones  were  not 
found  to  be  common  in  this  part  of  the  mound  except  in  stra- 
tum II,  and  in  the  graves  of  stratum  VII.    The  artifacts  obtained 


-"  Gi.  for  shellmounds  in  Denmark:  Eanke,  7.  c,  II,  p.  .532,  for  those  of 
the  Atlantic  Coast,  Wyman,  I.  c,  p.  575  (New  England)  and  Abbott,  I.  c,  p. 
442  (New  York). 

'"Analogous  is  the  statement  of  Wyman,  I.  c,  p.  564,  about  the  shell- 
mounds  of  New  England. 

"Cf.  also  Ilelhraia,  Der  vorgeschielitliehe  Mensc-h.  p.  449,  on  the  Kjok- 
kenmoddinger  of  Denmark. 

'-  Nadaillac,  I.  c,  p.  50,  states  from  uncertain  authority  that  a  shellmound 
near  San  Pablo  was  said  to  consist  of  calcined  shells  exclusively,  which  is 
certainly  an  exaggeration. 


20         University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Etlin.      [Vol.  7 

were  only  those  of  very  resistant  material,  such  as  stone  or  shell. 
All  other  kinds,  such  as  textiles  of  plant  fibre,  baskets,  and  im- 
plements of  wood,  which  doubtless  have  also  existed,  had  disap- 
peared. The  more  resistant  artifacts  were  distributed  through- 
out all  layers  of  the  mound. ^^ 

About  200  cubic  meters  of  earth  were  removed  and  sifted 
during  the  excavations,  and  yielded  600  artifacts  of  various 
kinds,  averaging  three  specimens  to  one  cubic  meter.  The  vol- 
ume of  the  whole  mound  we  computed  to  be  about  39,000  cubic 
meters,  and  it  may  be  assumed  that  by  excavating  the  entire 
mound  the  yield  would  be  about  100,000  specimens,  which  indi- 
cates that  many  generations  must  have  lived  here  to  deposit  such 
a  large  number  of  objects  of  imperishable  material  alone.^* 

The  same  computation  was  applied  to  each  separate  layer  in 
the  mound,  and  it  was  shown  that  the  yield  differed  according  to 
the  section  and  the  stratum  explored.  The  open  cut  A  yielded 
one  specimen  to  .75  cb.  m.,  and  the  tunnel  B  and  the  pits  /(  to  m, 
six  per  cb.  m.  Section  C  yielded  three  artifacts  to  one  cb.  m. 
This  computation  shows  that  sections  nearer  the  center  of  the 
mound  yielded  the  greater  number,  those  toward  the  edge  a 
smaller  number.  It  also  appears  that  the  lower  strata  contained 
a  larger  percentage  of  artifacts  than  the  upper  ones.  If,  how- 
ever, the  number  of  flaked  chert  fragments  were  subtracted  from 
the  yield  of  the  lower  strata,  their  percentage  would  be  much  the 
same  as  that  of  the  higher  layers.  The  following  are  the  contents 
of  the  various  strata : 

Stratum  I  had  20  artifacts  per  I5I/2  cb.  m.  =  1.3  per  cb.  in. 
Stratum  II,  30  cb.  m — 133  objects  =  4.4  per  cb.  m. 


^'  It  is  allefred  that  there  are  shellmouncis  in  the  East  which  contain  no 
implements  at  ali,  and  have  been  used  for  the  gathering  of  nmssels  only,  and 
not  as  dwelling  places  (Abbott,  p.  447,  accord,  to  Charles  A.  Woodley). 
Equally  uncertain  seems  to  be  the  distinction  made  by  Schumacher  between 
shelhnounds  yielding  few  artifacts  and  those  containing  a  larger  number,  as 
rejirfHenting  a  place  for  temporary  or  permanent  habitation.  Similarly  du- 
bious is  that  cla.ssification  which  considers  the  j)iiing  up  of  sliells  in  various 
Hej)arate  heaps  as  proof  of  permanent  abode  and  that  of  single  mounds  for 
the  use  only  as  temj)orary  stopping  places  (Smithson.  Ee)).,  1S74,  \)\\.  337  to 
338)-. 

^*  W.  J.  Ball  (contrib.  I.  c,  T,  p.  47)  states  that  during  his  excavations  of 
the  shellmounds  of  the  Aleutian  Islands  he  found  on  the  average  one  object 
in  one-half  ton  of  earth.  This  would  be  2.63  objects  to  one  cb.  m.  The  yield 
of  the  Emcryvillf  shelbnound  is  three  objects  to  one  cb.  m. 


1907]  Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Shcllmouvd.  21 

Stmtum  111,  '2,0%  cb.  in. — 27  ol)jects  ^  1.16  per  cb.  m. 
Stratum  IV,  11%  cb.  m. — 41  objects  =  3.5  per  cb.  in. 
Stratum  V,  9%  cb.  m. — 34  objects  =  3.5  per  cb.  in. 
Stratum  VI,  4^/-;  cb.  m. — 9  objects  =  2.1  per  cb.  m. 
Stratum  VII,  2%  cb.  m. — 10  objects  =  3.5  per  cb.  m. 

The  specimens  contained  in  the  graves  in  strata  VI  and  VII 
were  not  counted  in  with  the  rest.  This  comparison  shows  mainly 
that  stratum  II  is  the  richest  in  implements.  The  connection  of 
this  fact  with  the  preponderance  of  ashes  will  be  pointed  out 
later. 

Burials. 

Shellmounds  originate  on  the  accumulated  refuse  deposited 
by  people  who  have  lived  in  the  place  when  the  heap  has  formed, 
and  the  mounds  may  therefore  be  regarded  as  sites  for  dwelling 
places,  or  abodes  for  the  living,  and  not  as  mounds  set  aside  as 
burial  grounds  by  people  living  elsewhere  in  the  vicinity.  When- 
ever these  mounds  were  used  for  burials  it  was  not  done  in  spite 
of  their  being  dwelling  places,  but  rather  because  they  were 
such.^^ 

Many  tribes  of  a  low  grade  of  civilization  follow  the  custom 
of  burying  their  dead  underneath  their  feet  in  the  ground  upon 
which  they  live,  to  protect  the  graves  of  their  dead  against  being 
disturbed  and  also  to  enjoy  the  protection  of  the  spirits  of  the 
departed  against  their  enemies.  Wherever  graves  are  found  in 
shellmounds,  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  their  presence  is  generally 
to  be  explained  in  this  way.^'' 

Ten  graves  containing  skeletons  were  found  during  the  exca- 
vations. They  were  found  only  in  the  middle  layers  of  the  mound 
in  a  zone  extending  from  stratum  VI  to  stratum  VIII.  The  two 
lowest  layers  and  the  five  upper  ones  contained  no  evidence  of 
interment,  indicatiuR-  that  the  custom  of  burial  underneath  the 


^^  See  P.  Schumacher,  Bull.  I.  c,  p.  38,  for  burials  in  the  mounds  on  the 
Island  of  San  Miguel. 

""Virchow  found  them  in  the  Spanish  shellmounds  (Eanke,  I.  c,  II,  p. 
533),  while  in  those  of  Denmark  they  are  absent.  Schumacher  (Smiths. 
Eep.,  1874,  p.  337)  states  that  he  observed  shellmounds  in  Southern  Califor- 
nia which  had  been  temporary  abodes  only  and  were  devoid  of  graves;  while 
D.  G.  Brinton  asserts  that  in  Florida  graves  occurred  in  natural  shellmounds, 
while  artificial  shellmounds  were  free  of  them  (I.  c,  1866,  p.  357).  Such 
general  statements  cannot  be  accepted  unless  they  are  supported  by  observa- 
tions over  larger  fields  than  these. 


22         University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  7 

dwelling  places  was  observed  in  one  period  only.  We  have  no 
evidence  concerning  the  location  of  the  burials  previous  to  that 
period  or  subsequent  to  it.  A  burial  site  slightly  elevated  above 
the  plain  was  unearthed  some  years  ago  under  a  shellmound  near 
the  principal  mound  in  Emeryville,  but  as  this  probably  dated 
from  the  same  period  as  the  graves  in  the  shellmound  no  light  is 
thrown  upon  the  question. 

In  the  upper  strata  of  the  mound  there  is,  however,  furnished 
evidence  of  a  different  manner  of  disposing  of  the  dead,  which 
was  observed  during  the  period  of  the  deposition  of  strata  II,  III, 
and  IV.  During  the  period  represented  by  strata  VI  to  VIII  the 
dead  were  buried  in  the  ground.  It  has  already  been  shown  that 
stratum  II  consists  mainly  of  ashes  and  calcined  shells,  which 
cannot  be  regarded  as  kitchen-midden  deposit  or  as  the  remains 
of  fireplaces,  the  latter  forming  an  inconspicuous  part  of  the 
stratum.  Another  characteristic  feature  of  this  layer  is  the  high 
percentage  of  calcined  bone  implements  found  there.  Very  com- 
mon among  them  are  awls,  of  which  stratum  II  contained  44 
calcined  specimens,  or  72  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number.  In  the 
other  layers  a  much  smaller  number  has  been  found,  but  the  per- 
centage of  calcined  specimens  is  high.  The  supposition  that  these 
were  accidentally  burned  cannot  be  considered  an  adequate  expla- 
nation, but  the  fact  that  a  number  of  human  bones  were  found 
at  the  same  place  in  the  strata  gives  weight  to  the  theory  that 
during  the  deposition  of  the  upper  beds  the  inhabitants  of  this 
region  practiced  cremation  of  their  dead,  a  custom  common 
among  the  California  tribes  of  today.  Then  as  now  they  were 
accustomed  to  burn  all  personal  belongings  with  the  body.''^  This 
accounts  for  the  large  number  of  calcined  bone  objects  and  shells 
in  stratum  II.  Doubtless  a  large  number  of  shell-fish  Avere 
thrown  into  the  fire  as  food  for  the  departed  on  their  long  journey 
into  the  next  world. 

Doubtless  the  practice  of  ci'emation  was  not  confined  alone  to 
the  period  of  stratum  II.  The  percentage  of  calcined  awls  in 
other  strata  than  this  suggests  that  the  builders  during  the  ac- 


•'"  II.  (;.  Varrow,  Introduction  to  the  mortuary  customs  among  the  North 
American  Judians,  1880,  p.  58,  points  out  that  this  custom  was  general 
among  those  Indians  who  cremated  their  dead. 


1907]  Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmound.  23 

cumulation  of  stratum  I,  and  probably  also  of  III  and  IV  and 
parts  of  V,  practiced  this  custom,  but  to  a  l&ss  extent  than  in  the 
period  of  stratum  II,  or  mainly  at  other  places  than  the  mound. 

Eight  of  the  ten  graves  containing  skeletons  lay  close  together 
in  the  narrow  space  of  the  middle  section  of  the  excavation.  Four 
were  found  in  strata  VI  and  VII  of  the  upper  cut  C.  Four  of  the 
graves  were  those  of  children,  lying  at  different  depths  in  the 
line  of  the  tunnel.  Two  other  graves  were  isolated  from  the 
others,  lying  in  the  edge  of  the  mound.  None  of  the  burials  were 
less  than  nine  feet  below  the  present  surface.  The  lowest  grave, 
No.  10  (pi.  IV,  fig.  2),  was  21  feet  below  the  surface.  In  accord- 
ance with  the  stratification  lines  of  the  mound,  graves  1  and  2, 
as  well  as  6,  8,  and  9,  may  be  considered  as  belonging  to  the  pe- 
riod of  strata  VII  and  Vila.  The  eight  graves  which  lay  close 
together  in  the  middle  of  the  main  excavation  were  distributed 
over  a  space  of  about  90  square  feet.  The  vertical  distance  from 
the  uppermost  to  the  lowest  of  these  was  nine  feet.  As  the  tunnel 
inclines  toward  the  center  of  the  mound  it  is  not  certain  whether 
the  cemetery  extended  through  the  entire  mound  or  was  only 
around  the  margin  of  a  settlement  on  the  summit  of  the  mound 
at  the  time  when  it  was  in  use.  From  the  depths  at  which  the 
different  graves  were  found,  varying  about  nine  feet,  it  is  clear 
that  they  were  not  constructed  within  a  short  period,  but  that 
long  periods  intervened,  during  which  the  mound  grew  very  con- 
siderably through  the  deposition  of  refuse.  P.  Schumacher  ex- 
plored the  graves  of  Oregon,  which  lay  at  a  depth  of  from  li/o 
to  21/2  feet  below  the  surface,  and  probably  the  tribes  of  the  Pa- 
cific Coast  buried  their  dead  in  comparatively  shallow  graves.^^ 
In  the  case  of  a  child's  grave  (No.  9,  pi.  4,  fig.  2)  it  was  seen 
by  the  stratification  lines  that  it  was  not  made  deeper  than  II/2 
feet  below  the  surface.  Assuming  this  as  being  the  general  depth 
of  the  graves  throughout  the  mound,  then  the  graves  varying  be- 
tween 21/4  and  I2V2  feet  above  the  base  of  the  mound  were  dug 
at  periods  when  the  entire  height  of  the  mound  was  about  5  to  14 
feet,  hence  the  period  of  these  burials  would  have  to  be  placed 


^'  Bulletin  U.  S.  Geol.  and  Geogr.  Survey,  III,  p.  34.  In  other  places 
shellmound  graves  lie  deeper;  thus  sometimes  three  to  six  feet  on  the  Island 
of  San  Miguel  (P.  Schumacher,  Bull.  I.  c,  p.  38). 


24        University  of  California  Piiblications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

entirely  during  the  time  of  the  earlier  plateau-like  growth  of  the 
mound.  This  period  of  burial  is  very  closely  followed  by  that  of 
cremation,  the  two  possibly  overlapping. 

The  preparation  of  the  graves  was  not  elaborate.  A  simple 
pit  sufficed.  It  was  made  large  enough  to  place  the  body  in  it 
with  the  knees  drawn  up.  The  sides  of  the  grave  were  left  bare. 
If  a  covering  existed  originally  it  must  have  been  of  perishable 
materials,  for  none  have  been  found  in  excavation.  The  bottom 
of  the  grave,  however,  was  prepared  somewhat  like  a  bed.  A 
layer  of  charcoal  from  one-half  inch  to  one  inch  thick  is  found  at 
the  very  bottom,  above  that  another  layer  of  like  thickness  of  iron 
oxide.  Upon  this  the  body  was  laid  on  its  side.  It  is  evident  that 
the  bod.y  was  buried  with  its  clothing  and  personal  ornaments,  in 
exceptional  cases  with  utensils  or  implements  only.  The  body 
was  tightly  bound  at  the  knees  before  burial.  Owing  to  climatic 
conditions,  causing  excessive  moisture  in  the  strata,  the  greater 
part  of  the  material  buried  with  the  corpse  has  decayed  and  dis- 
appeared. Five  of  the  ten  graves  were  entirely  lacking  in  imple- 
ments or  other  artifacts. 

Before  burial  the  body  was  entirely  covered  with  the  red  earth 
mentioned  above.  This  settled  down  upon  the  bones  after  decom- 
position and  is  still  adhering  to  them  in  some  cases  like  a  thick 
crust.  The  hands  were  placed  on  the  body  in  different  ways.  In 
several  instances  the  left  hand  rested  upon  the  knees,  while  the 
other  was  raised  to  the  mouth  or  to  the  crown  of  the  head.  The 
corpse  is  usually  laid  upon  the  right  side,  generally  facing  north- 
east. Associated  with  a  number  of  skeletons  were  a  variety  of 
interesting  ornaments,  including  beads  made  from  shells  of  Oli- 
vella  and  other  molluscs  and  from  sections  of  bird  bones  strung 
together.  With  skeleton  No.  4  were  associated  a  large  number  of 
perforated  mica  flakes.  The  flakes  of  mica  may  originally  have 
been  fastened  to  a  garment  which  shrouded  the  dead,  and  when 
this  decayed  in  the  earth  the  flakes  remained  there  about  the 
body.  Beads  of  bird  bone  were  found  in  the  mouth  also,  but 
their  presence  there  might  be  explained  by  the  settling  of  the 
skull  in  the  earth.  Mica  was  much  used  by  the  Indians  for  orna- 
mentation. It  has  been  observed  in  Peru  in  a  number  of  cases  in 
the  vicinity  of  graves,  but  circumstances  did  not  show  whether 


1907]  Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmonnd.  25 

its  presence  there  was  purely  accidental  or  not.  In  the  mounds 
of  the  middle  west  of  the  United  States  there  have  sometimes 
been  found  ornaments  of  thin  plates  of  mica  of  round  or  oval 
form,  provided  with  holes  to  fasten  them  to  the  clothinj?.'"  Sim- 
ilar objects  were  found  in  West  Virginia  and  elsewhere.  Pieces 
of  mica  2  or  8  inches  in  size  are  reported  to  have  been  found  in 
mounds  or  in  places  su£:gestive  of  their  use  for  religious  pur- 
poses.*^ Beads  like  the  above  mentioned  from  California,  both 
from  graves  and  from  living  Indians,  were  pictured  by  Holmes.'*^ 
With  burial  six  was  a  bone  ring  set  with  shell  beads  fastened  on 
with  asphalt.  In  burial  seven  were  numerous  bone  rings  sim- 
ilarly decorated  with  shell  beads.  Also  in  burial  seven  was  found 
a  large  quartz  crystal.  One  end  of  the  crystal  is  preserved  un- 
broken. The  other  end  is  capped  with  asphaltum  in  which  nu- 
merous small  shell  beads  are  set.  Quartz  crystals  have  been  found 
elsewhere  in  California  in  graves."*^  The  above  mentioned  crystal, 
however,  reminds  us  most  strongly  of  a  number  of  crystals  one 
foot  in  length  and  of  the  thickness  of  one's  arm,  found  during 
the  excavation  of  the  western  wall  of  the  Temple  of  the  Moon  at 
Moche  (Trujillo),  in  Peru,  now  in  the  collection  of  the  University 
of  California.  These,  too,  had  the  coating  of  red  coloring  earth, 
the  same  as  the  object  shown  on  pi.  11,  fig.  9,  and  were  found 
under  peculiar  conditions  pointing  strongly  to  their  religious 
significance. 

Several  peculiar  bone  implements  were  obtained  in  burial 
eight. 

The  mode  of  burial  seen  here  resembles  that  observed  else- 
where in  the  shellmounds  of  California,  for  example,  near  San 
Luis  Obispo,  and  that  of  other  regions  on  the  Pacific  Coast  (Ore- 
gon), and  it  is  still  followed  among  the  California  Indian  tribes. 
The  burial  of  the  corpse  with  its  knees  drawn  up  has  also  been 
observed  in  Southern  California*^  and  Oregon.**    From  the  latter 

^"  Charles  Eau,  Ancient  Aboriginal  Trade  in  North  America,  Smithson. 
Eep.,  1872,  p.  361  (from  G.  Squier). 

*>  I.  c,  p.  360. 

"  Art  in  Shell,  Second  Annual  Keport  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1880 
to  1881,  pi.  XXTII,  fig.  6. 

*'-  P.  Schumacher,  Smithson.  Eep.,  1874,  p.  349. 

*^'  Central  California,  cf .  also  Moorehead,  /.  c,  p.  259. 

"  P.  Schumacher,  Bull.  I.  c,  p.  34. 


26        University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

region  also  the  varying  positions  in  which  the  corpses  face  is 
confirmed  by  Schumacher.*^ 

To  the  layer  of  charcoal  and  red  iron  oxide  which  generally 
formed  the  bed  of  the  dead  may  be  compared  the  ' '  thick  burned 
brick-like  crusts"  and  the  "thin  light  colored  crusts"  found  by 
Schumacher  in  Southern  California  graves.**'  A  large  number 
of  lumps  of  red  coloring  earth  w^ere  found  throughout  the  mound, 
some  of  these  showing  marks  of  scraping  or  cutting.  In  Southern 
California  graves  we  find  conditions  resembling  these  almost  iden- 
tically.*^ Up  to  recent  times  the  California  Indians  very  gener- 
ally painted  their  bodies,  and  there  is  undoubtedly  a  religious 
significance  in  this  practice  of  daubing  the  corpses  and  associated 
objects  with  red  coloring  material,  besides  depositing  them  on  red 
earth.  The  custom  of  putting  red  coloring  matter  on  the  body  of 
the  dead  is  found  with  many  aboriginal  tribes.  So  the  Caribs  in 
Jamaica**  paint  the  entire  body  of  the  corpse.  The  Santees  of 
South  Carolina***  painted  face,  neck,  and  hands  of  the  corpse. 
The  Dakotas^"  painted  the  face  alone.  In  a  number  of  Peruvian 
mummies  the  faces  were  painted  red.  Crania  from  ancient  Peru- 
vian graves  that  had  been  disturbed  at  some  early  time  were 
also  found  covered  with  red  paint. 

The  absence  of  implements  is  explained  by  Schumacher  by 
the  analogous  custom  of  the  lower  Klamath  tribes,  where  the  im- 
plements are  laid  upon  the  grave  instead  of  being  buried  with  the 
dead.'"'^    This  custom  may  have  prevailed  in  this  shellmound. 

It  was  an  unfortunate  circumstance  that  the  exploration  in 
Emeiyville  occurred  at  a  season  of  the  year  when  the  interior  of 
the  mound  was  still  very  damp  from  preceding  rains.  For  this 
reason  none  of  the  skulls  could  be  secured  intact,  and  they  will 
need  to  be  carefully  prepared  before  use  can  be  made  of  them  for 


"  F.  \V.  Putnam,  Rep.  upon  U.  8.  (ieojfr.  Surveys,  I.  c,  p.  30;  Schunuu'lier, 
Sinitlison.  Kep.,  1874,  p.  341. 

*"  Smithson.  Rep.,  1874,  p.  342. 

"Putnam,  I.  c,  p.  22;  Schumaclifr,  SniitliHon.  Reports,  1874,  p.  3.50. 

^'Yarrow,  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Mortuary  Customs  amonfj  the 
North  American  Indians,  1880,  j).  .')4. 

"Schoolcraft,  Archives  of  Abori<(iiial  Knowledge,  lH(iO,  IV,  j).  IHG. 

"  Yarrow,  /.  c,  p.  71. 

"  Bulletin  I.  c,  p.  34. 


1907]  Uhle. — The  Emcri/ville  Shellmouiul.  27 

anthropological  study.  It  may  be  noted  that  none  of  them  show 
striking  eccentricities  of  form. 

Following  is  a  detailed  statement  of  the  occurrence  and  the 
contents  of  each  of  the  ten  burials  excavated. 

No.  1,  pi.  IV,  fig.  2,  was  found  9  feet  below  the  present  sur- 
face ;  it  may  be  contemporaneous  with  the  graves  of  stratum  VII 
(as  6  and  9) .  The  skeleton  was  that  of  an  adult,  drawn  up  in  the 
usual  manner.  It  was  laid  on  its  right  side  and  was  facing  east. 
The  left  arm  rested  upon  the  knee,  the  right  hand  on  the  crown 
of  the  head,  where  also  was  found  a  cockleshell.  The  skeleton 
lay  on  a  bed  of  red  soil ;  the  bones  were  slightly  reddened.  No 
associated  objects. 

No.  2.  Skeleton  of  an  adult,  found  at  a  depth  of  9  feet  in 
the  outer  part  {A)  of  the  excavation;  neither  red  earth  nor  asso- 
ciated objects  present.  The  burial  dated  probably  from  the  same 
period  as  the  preceding. 

No.  3.  Grave  of  a  young  person,  about  15  years  of  age,  in 
stratum  VI.  The  skeleton  was  facing  northwest.  No  artifacts  or 
other  associated  objects. 

N.  4.  Grave  of  an  adult,  in  stratum  VI.  The  skeleton  lay 
from  east  to  west  upon  a  double  bed  of  charcoal  and  red  earth. 
Interspersed  in  the  soil  were  found  a  great  quantity  of  flakes  of 
mica  1  to  1%  inches  in  diameter,  rhomboidal,  triangular,  and 
irregular  in  shape,  and  each  with  a  hole  at  one  end  (see  pi.  II, 
fig.  18)  ;  also  a  quantity  of  beads  made  of  bird  bones  were  found 
upon  the  cranium  as  if  they  had  formed  part  of  a  net  drawn  over 
it ;  others  lay  along  the  sides  of  the  head  and  along  the  temples. 

No.  5.  Skeleton  of  an  adult  lying  from  east  to  west  and 
facing  north.  Stratum  VI.  The  cranium  shows  a  lupus-like  mu- 
tilation of  the  nose  (fig.  2).    No  ornaments. 

No.  6.  Grave  of  a  child  a  little  over  a  year  old,  found  in  the 
tunnel  in  stratum  Vila,  at  a  depth  of  17  feet  below  the  surface. 
It  lay  from  north  to  south  upon  a  bed  of  charcoal  and  red  earth. 
Various  ornaments  and  other  articles  were  taken  from  this  grave, 
all  covered  with  red  earth.  A  number  of  shell  beads,  both  flat 
(cf.  pi.  11,  figs.  6a  and  66),  and  concave  forms  (pi.  11.  figs.  5a 
and  56)  lay  in  rows  from  the  neck  down  along  the  body,  and  Avere 
originally  necklaces ;  two  bored  round  pieces  and  two  oblong  ones. 


28 


University  of  California  Puhlications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  7 


(pi.  11,  figs.  1  and  2)  of  Haliotis  shell  bad  completed  the  neck- 
lace. xVn  unusual  object  (pi.  11,  fig.  8)  found  here  was  a  flat  ring 
three-eighths  of  an  inch  wide,  three-sixteenths  of  an  inch  thick, 
neatly  made  of  stone,  both  surfaces  being  decorated  with  a  num- 
ber of  shell  beads,  originally  11  to  12  on  each  side,  fastened  with 
asphaltum.  This  object  may  have  been  a  pendant,  but  doubtless 
it  possessed  talismanic  virtues. 

Shell  beads  like  the  larger  convex  ones  of  Olivella  sp.  have 
been  pictured  by  Holmes  as  objects  belonging  to  early  and  mod- 
ern Indians  of  California.  Possibly  they  also  resemble  the  shell 
coin  "Kolkol"  of  the  modern  Indians,  which  is  made  of  Olivella 


Fig.  2.*     Skull  showing  lupus-like  imitilation  of  the  nose.     X  '/.'• 


biplicata,  according  to  Powers,  and  was  strung  in  such  ti  manner 
that  the  beads  faced  each  other  in  pairs,  but  are  not  much  in  use 
in  modern  times. 

A  shell  ring  of  similar  proportions  as  above,  but  differing 
through  its  inferior  material  and  the  jibsence  of  decoration,  has 
also  been  pictured  by  Holmes  as  coming  from  Illinois.  ;ind  as 
being  an  ear  ornament  presumably,  while  the  object  described 
above  could  not  have  .served  thnt  purpose. 


*  Fig.  1  li;iH  Ix'en  ()niitt;o(l  oniiig  U 
Editor. 


)u\>]v  i('f'<'i('iic(>H  ill  tlio  iii;iiiuH('ii|it,. 


1907]  Uhle.—The  Emeryville  Shellmound.  29 

No.  7.  Grave  of  a  child  about  one  year  old,  found  in  stra- 
tum VIII,  about  21  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  mound.  The 
body  lay  upon  the  usual  bed  of  charcoal  and  of  red  earth  and  all 
the  little  bones  were  thickly  covered  with  red  coloring  matter. 
The  grave  was  as  rich  in  artifacts  as  the  preceding  one.  A  num- 
ber of  small  shell  beads  (as  in  pi.  11,  fig.  6)  were  found  near  the 
wrist.  The  following  objects  were  taken  from  the  earth  about 
the  body : 

Three  oblong  ornaments,  bored,  of  Ilaliotis  shell  (pi.  11,  fig. 
1),  a  number  of  very  small  shells  of  Olivella  sp.  having  bored 
ends,  which  fact  shows  that  they  were  used  as  ornaments;  11 
bead-like  rings  of  bone,  each  being  about  one  inch  long  and  seven- 
sixteenths  of  an  inch  thick ;  each  has  a  band  of  asphaltum  in  which 
three  or  four  small  shells  were  imbedded  (pi.  11,  figs.  10,  11). 
While  these  rings  may  have  been  mere  ornaments,  the  following 
unusual  object  (pi.  11,  fig.  9)  taken  from  the  same  grave  must 
without  doubt  have  talismanic  importance.  It  is  a  piece  of  quartz 
crystal  2^%q  inches  long  and  l^A  inches  thick,  having  perfect 
lateral  edges  and  points ;  the  broken  base  of  the  crystal  is  capped 
with  asphaltum  in  which  numerous  small  shell  beads  are  set. 

All  these  objects  were  thickly  coated  with  red  coloring  matter. 
For  the  small  ornamental  Olivella  shells  compare  similar  ones 
from  Santa  Rosa  Island,  California,  pictured  by  Holmes  (1.  c, 
fig.  7).  The  bone  ring  resembles  the  thick  bead-like  bone  ring 
taken  from  another  of  the  graves,  stratum  Vila,  of  the  mound. 

No.  8.  Burial  of  an  adult,  in  stratum  VII,  found  above  the 
tunnel.  The  body  in  the  usual  squatting  position  was  placed 
from  north  to  south,  facing  east,  upon  a  bed  of  red  earth  and  was 
itself  colored  red.  This  grave  contained  besides  objects  of  per- 
sonal adornment  a  number  of  bone  implements.  The  former  con- 
sisted of  a  number  of  beads  made  of  bird  bone  (types  similar  to 
object  pi.  11,  figs.  15  to  17)  and  a  like  number  of  Olivella  shells 
bored  at  the  lower  end  (pi.  11,  fig.  3) ;  they  were  scattered  in  the 
earth  about  the  body.  One  of  the  Olivella  shells  was  perforated 
on  its  side  (pi.  11,  fig.  4).  Several  of  the  bone  beads  were  con- 
nected in  twos  by  thinner  bones  (pi.  11,  fig.  15).  It  may  be 
assumed  that  the  bone  beads  and  shells  had  been  fastened  to  a 
garment  that  served  as  a  shi-oud  for  the  body  but  has  now  dis- 
appeared. 


30        University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  7 

The  bone  implements  taken  from  this  ^rave  have  the  shape  of 
paper  cuttei-s;  there  are  five  in  all,  representing  two  distinct 
types.  Three  are  made  of  a  hard  bone  (pi.  8,  fig.  4)  and  are  im- 
perfect at  their  upper  ends ;  the  form  is  that  of  a  horn,  the  worn 
edges  show  their  use  as  tools ;  the  other  two  objects  (pi.  8,  fig.  5) 
are  made  of  a  much  softer  bone;  they  are  unfinished  at  their 
lower  ends.  The  two  types  are  distinct,  although  it  is  difficult 
to  compare  them  in  their  veiy  imperfect  condition.  The  upper 
end  of  the  implement  of  the  second  type  shows  two  hooked  pro- 
jections connected  by  an  outward  bending  of  their  rims.  They 
have  each  a  hole  on  the  lower  edge  of  such  a  size  as  to  admit  a 
finger,  to  facilitate  the  handling  of  the  tool.  Neither  of  these 
types  was  met  in  other  parts  of  the  mound. 

An  Olivella  shell  with  side  perforation  similar  to  that  of  plate 
11,  fig.  4,  from  a  grave  on  Santa  Rosa  Island  has  been  represented 
by  Holmes.^-  Bone  beads  similar  to  that  of  figs.  16  and  17  on 
plate  11  were  found  in  nearly  all  the  strata  of  the  mound;  two 
of  these  are  shown  in  figs.  13  and  14  of  the  same  plate,  the  former, 
1-8702,  from  stratum  IV,  the  latter,  1-8743,  from  stratum  V. 
It  also  has  a  remnant  of  a  former  axle-like  connection  with  an- 
other bead  as  was  shown  in  fig.  15  from  stratum  V.  Bone  beads 
have  been  widely  used  as  objects  of  adornment  by  the  California 
Indians,  as  is  the  case  with  many  tribes  in  other  parts  of  the 
world.'""'  With  the  Yokuts  bird  bone  pieces  of  21^  inches  in 
length  at  one  time  represented  a  value  of  121^  cents. 

No.  9.  A  child's  grave,  in  stratum  Vila,  in  the  tunnel  about 
18  feet  below  the  surface.  The  associated  objects  were  convex 
shell  beads  (cf.  pi.  11,  figs.  5a  and  5?;)  and  a  cockleshell  upon  the 
crown  of  the  head  (cf.  grave  No.  1). 

No.  10.  Grave  of  an  infant  with  very  delicate  bones.  It  was 
found  in  the  lowest  part  of  section  VIII,  23  feet  below  the  sur- 
face. 

Age  of  the  Mound. 

The  shellmounds  of  the  environs  of  San  Francisco  Bay  are 
almost  the  only  witnesses  of  a  practically  imkiiown  [xM-icnl  in  the 

"^Art  in  ShoU,  pi.  XXXII,  fig.  2. 

"  W.  H.  Dall,  for  iiiHtanco,  foiiml  thoiii  among  otlior  places  in  shell- 
mounds  on  the  Aleutian  Jsljinds  (Srtiitlison.  ("ontrib.,  187H,  No.  318,  pi.  10, 
No.  17261. 


1907]  Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmound.  31 

early  history  of  this  re^ion.'^*  They  appear  to  us  at  first  investi- 
gation unintollipible,  both  as  regards  the  beginning  and  the  end 
of  the  period  during  which  they  served  as  hinnan  abodes.  For  a 
solution  of  the  problem  before  us  the  most  diverse  kinds  of  inves- 
tigations must  be  carried  on,  before  the  principal  facts  of  this 
history  can  be  clearly  brought  out. 

Shellmounds  can  be  found  along  almost  all  parts  of  the  in- 
habited coast.  In  California  as  well  as  in  other  parts  of  the  world 
they  originate  by  the  accumulation  of  remnants  of  food,  espe- 
cially the  shells  of  the  moUusca  which  are  used  as  articles  of  diet. 
In  the  midst  of  the  remnants  of  food  cast  aside  by  him,  man  clung 
to  his  place  of  abode,  raising  it  more  and  more  above  the  general 
level  of  the  ground  through  the  gradual  accumulation  of  these 
materials.  Hence  these  localities  represent,  in  certain  stages  of 
human  development,  true  but  nevertheless  low  types  of  human 
dwelling  places.  The  manner  of  procuring  the  essentials  of  life 
by  collecting  shells  in  itself  indicates  a  low  form  of  human  exist- 
ence. In  all  parts  of  the  world,  even  today,  people  may  be  seen 
on  the  shore  at  low  water  gathering  for  food  the  shells  uncovered 
by  the  retreating  tide;  and  although  under  the  changed  condi- 
tions of  life  they  raise  no  shellmounds,  these  people  always  belong 
to  the  lower  classes  of  society,  and  lead  in  this  manner  a  primitive 
as  well  as  a  simple  life.  Peoples  depending  for  food  upon  col- 
lecting shells  are  usually  not  agriculturists,  but  fishermen,  and 
perhaps  hunters  as  a  secondary  occupation.  Their  implements 
are  of  the  rudest  kind,  made  of  bone,  stone,  wood,  and  the  like. 
Industries  of  a  more  highly  developed  kind,  e.g.,  the  dressing 
of  ore  and  working  it  up  into  various  implements,  remained  un- 
known to  them,  except  in  perhaps  a  few  instances. 

Thus  it  seems  natural  to  connect  the  origin  of  shellmounds  in 
general  with  the  work  of  prehistoric  generations,  i.e.,  man  of  the 
stone  age.  The  only  condition  necessary  for  their  origin  is,  that 
the  people  who  raised  them  lived  somewhat  close  together  and 
therefore  possessed  a  certain  social  organization.  For  only  in 
many  centuries  or  even  in  tens  of  centuries  could  even  large 
groups  of  men  pile  up  such  enormous  quantities  of  kitchen  debris 


Powers,  l.  <".,  p.  375. 


32         Vniversity  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Etha.      [Vol.  7 

into  hills  Avhich  come  to  form  prominent  features  of  the  land- 
scape. Though  little  is  definitely  known,  the  beginnings  of  hu- 
man social  organization  evidently  reached  back  into  Quaternary 
time,  just  as  is  the  ease  with  the  beginnings  of  human  ornamen- 
tation. There  is  therefore  no  good  reason  why  the  origin  of  the 
shellmounds  could  not  date  back  to  Quaternary  time.  In  this 
connection  mention  must  be  made  of  the  fact  that,  according  to 
Cook,^^  stone  implements  of  argillite,  which  would  consequently 
be  attributed  to  the  palaeolithic  man,  were  found  in  a  shellmound 
of  New  Jersey.  The  well  known  shellmounds  of  Denmark,  the 
so-called  "Kjoekkenmoeddings"  {i.e.,  "Kitchen  debris"),  which 
first  attracted  the  attention  of  scientists  to  the  remnants  left  by 
prehistoric  men,  are  not  so  old.''"  Nevertheless,  it  has  been  pos- 
sible to  prove  by  them  that  Denmark  had  at  the  time  of  their 
origin  a  fiora  considerably  different  from  that  of  the  present,  and 
that  the  Auerhahn,  too,  lived  there,  which  does  not  exist  in  Den- 
mark to-day.  J.  Wyman,  a  very  careful  explorer  of  the  shell- 
mounds of  NcAV  England,  does  not  consider  the  Atlantic  shell- 
mounds of  this  continent  as  old  as  those  of  Denmark.^^  He  seems 
to  have  taken  this  view  because  he  met  with  no  authentic  proofs 
of  a  greater  age.  These  were  difficult  to  obtain.  Yet  he  calls 
attention  to  the  finding  of  traces  of  the  auk,  the  wild  turkey,  and 
the  elk  in  those  shellmounds,  i.r.,  animals  which  no  longer  exist 
in  the  region  of  shellmounds  investigated  by  him.  According  to 
him,  their  disappearance  took  place  in  historic  times. 

In  determining  the  age  of  the  Emeryville  mound  we  note  first 
the  fact  that  no  traces  of  typical  Quaternary  animals  were  found 
in  it.  It  is  interesting  to  find  that  this  mound  resembles  those 
just  mentioned  in  regard  to  the  finding  of  traces  of  the  beaver, 
an  animal  no  longer  met  with  in  this  region.  It  was  found  in  one 
of  the  lower  strata  of  the  mound.  How  far  it  reaches  upward 
cannot  as  yet  be  decided,  since  the  large  number  of  bones  taken 
from  the  upper  beds  have  not  all  been  examined.  Since  the  time 
that  remains  of  this  finininl  were  deposited  in  the  lower  strata  of 


'^  Quoted  by  Abbott,  /.  c. 

""  Cf .  J.  Kanke,  Der  Mensch,  IJ,  ji.  .536.     ThoKc  shcllnunintls  are  placed  in 
the  earlier  stone  age  of  the  current  geologic  periods. 
"I.  c,  p.  571. 


1907]  Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmound.  33 

the  mound,  the  beaver  has  retreated  from  this  region,  in  fact 
from  the  whole  of  California,  in  a  northerly  direction,  possibly 
up  to  Washington.  When  it  left  this  region  is  not  known.  We 
cannot,  however,  be  certain  that  this  retreat  may  not  have  com- 
menced in  recent  times. 

Another  fact  of  importance  in  fixing  the  age  of  this  mound  is 
found  in  the  apparent  change  of  level  of  the  strata  upon  which 
the  original  layers  of  the  mound  were  placed.  As  nearly  as  can 
be  determined,  the  original  fundament  upon  which  the  mound 
stands  has  sunk  at  least  three  feet.  The  base  of  the  mound,  for- 
merly probably  one  foot  above  the  usual  high  water  leveP*  of  the 
bay,  lies  at  present  two  feet  below.  If  the  mound  with  its  envi- 
rons had  not  since  grown  above  the  level  of  the  original  floor,  it 
would  be  inundated  completely  for  several  hours  twice  a  day. 
The  length  of  time  required  for  such  a  subsidence  we  can  of 
course  not  determine  with  any  exactness,  as  no  measure  of  sub- 
sidence is  available.  In  all  probability  it  is  to  be  taken  as  an 
indication  of  considerable  antiquity. 

Further  facts  upon  which  an  approximation  of  the  age  of  the 
mound  may  be  based  are  of  a  purely  anthropological  nature. 
Usually  the  early  period  in  which  man  made  use  solely  of  flaked 
stone  tools  is  contrasted  with  the  later  age  when  polished  as  well 
as  chipped  stone  implements  were  used.  In  the  very  lowest  stra- 
tum of  the  hill,  almost  down  at  the  base,  there  were  found  stone 
implements  of  the  well  known  palaeolithic  turtle-back  form.  A 
pestle  fragment  which  came  from  the  lower  stratum  of  the  mound, 
though  having  a  completely  disintegrated  exterior,  seems  to  have 
originally  been  artificially  rounded.  A  mortar  fragment  found 
low  down  may  have  originated  from  an  implement  which  was 
formed,  as  is  often  the  case,  out  of  a  common  boulder.  But  be- 
fore it  broke  from  this  object  the  mortar  was  deeply  worn  out, 
just  as  others  that  have  come  down  to  our  times.  Also,  the  deep 
concavity  of  its  rims  speaks  for  long  continued  wear.  The  next 
stratum  (two  to  four  feet  above  the  base  of  the  mound)  yielded 
the  fragment  of  a  pestle  of  irregular,  not  rounded  cross-section. 
Here  a  common  oblong  pebble  may  have  been  used  as  a  pestle. 


°*  On  an  average  once  in  every  14  days  the  high  tide  reaches  a  higher 
mark,  which,  however,  is  not  considered  here. 


34         University  of  Calif ornia  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Etlm.      [Vol.  7 

Besides  these,  the  two  lower  strata  furnished  only  an  oval,  flat- 
tened pebble,  probably  used  as  a  hammer,  the  only  one  of  its  kind 
in  the  whole  mound. 

These  four  stone  implements  represent  the  only  specimens  of 
the  two  lowest  strata  of  the  mound  which  are  not  chipped.  A 
little  above  these  the  excellently  polished  tool  1-8925  (pi.  10, 
fig.  9)  was  found  (in  stratum  VIII).  This  is  the  only  one  of 
such  workmanship  before  the  IVth  stratum  upwards.  Therefore 
it  is  by  no  means  impossible  that  rubbed  or  polished  stone  imple- 
ments, excepting  mortars  and  pestles,  were  unknown  at  the  time 
of  the  origin  of  the  lower  strata,  and  that  their  use  was  rather 
limited  in  the  succeeding  strata.  But  the  presence  of  mortar 
fragments  and  pestles  in  the  lowest  strata  points  toward  a  higher 
development  of  the  human  type  than  is  usually  expected  of  men 
who  use  flaked  tools  only. 

It  will  have  become  evident  from  the  foregoing  remarks  that 
the  general  zoological,  geological,  and  anthropological  facts  which 
are  available  for  fixing  the  age  of  the  mound  offer  only  indefinite 
evidence;  uncertain  even  for  an  approximate  dating  of  the  time 
of  the  mound's  beginning.  They  do  not  preclude  the  possibility 
of  an  age  numbering  many  centuries ;  neither  do  they  prove  it. 
Under  such  circumstances  it  seems  proper  to  take  into  account 
some  more  general  considerations  which  appear  in  a  study  of  the 
shellmounds  of  the  bay  as  a  whole. 

We  shall  probably  not  make  too  great  a  mistake  if  we  estimate 
the  number  of  the  larger  shellmounds  around  the  Bay  of  San 
Francisco  to  be  over  100.  So  many  and  such  enormous  shell- 
mounds can  not  possibly  have  been  constructed  by  human  hands 
unintentionally  in  any  small  number  of  centuries.  Furthermore, 
they  form  a  link  of  a  larger  chain  of  similar  mounds  which  stretch 
northerly  along  the  coast  and  inland  from  Southern  California 
to  beyond  Vancouver  and  possibly  still  farther;  i.e.,  a  distance 
of  18  degrees  of  latitude.  The  extensioii  of  such  a  similar  manner 
of  life  over  so  great  an  area  speaks  of  itself  for  the  work  of  a 
great  number  of  centuries.  Even  the  complete  development  of 
this  peculiar  mode  of  existence,  as  represented  in  these  mounds, 
must  have  taken  centuries.  And  tliis  is  the  more  probably  true 
since  in  those  earlier  stages  of  cultural  evolution  advances  in  the 


1907J  Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmound.  35 

manner  of  living  were  infinitely  more  difficult  than  they  were 
later.  Under  these  ('irciiiiistaneos  it  is  only  possible  to  assume 
that  the  origin  of  the  shellniounds  in  this  region  represents  a 
historical  development  of  more  than  a  thousand,  possibly  many 
thousand  years.^^  If  this  holds  good  generally  for  the  origin  of 
shellniounds  among  which  the  one  at  Emeryville  is,  judged  by 
its  height,  the  character  of  its  contents  in  the  lower  strata,  and 
the  observed  geological  facts,  by  no  means  the  youngest,  we  have 
still  to  consider  on  the  other  hand  the  limits  of  the  time  up  to 
which  these  mounds  may  have  been  inhabited. 

For  a  long  time  it  has  been  customary  to  consider  the  last  as 
well  as  the  first  occupation  of  the  shellmounds  as  belonging  to  the 
remote  past.  The  fact  that  in  California  no  shellmound  is  known 
which  is  now  inhabited  or  has  been  inhabited  in  historic  time 
would  speak  for  this  assumption.  However,  many  instances  point 
to  habitation  of  the  mounds  in  the  most  recent  times,  not  only  in 
a  few  places,  but  in  different  parts  of  the  whole  inhabited  world. 
And  this  cannot  surprise  us ;  for  we  can  see  primitive  man  reach 
into  the  most  recent,  nay,  even  the  present  time,  in  various  parts 
of  the  globe.  Thus,  as  is  well  known,  the  first  discoverers  de- 
scribed the  Indians  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  as  men  "living  in 
houses  of  mats  erected  upon  hills  of  oysters. '"^'^  R.  Schomburgh 
attributes  a  large  number  of  mounds  made  of  snail  shells,  ob- 
served by  him  near  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  river,  to  the  Warrow 
Indians,  who  are  still  living  in  that  neighborhood.  In  the  deso- 
late coast  lands  of  the  at  present  dry  mouths  of  the  lea  river  in 
Peru  there  are  two  enormous  shellmounds  which  the  writer  has 
visited.  Even  now  there  remain  large  parts  of  the  wooden  huts 
which  were  left  behind  on  these  shellmounds  by  the  last  shell- 
eaters.     Painted  pot-fragments,  patches  of  woven  fibres,  and  all 

''  In  a  similar  manner,  Abbott,  I.  c,  p.  449,  closes  a  long  general  exposi- 
tion of  the  reasons  which  speak  either  for  or  against  a  relatively  great  age 
of  the  shellmounds  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  with  the  estimate  of  an  age  of  at 
least  1,000  years.  His  deductions  are  based  upon  geological  reasons  (the 
sinking  of  the  coast)  and  the  dissimilarities  of  the  cultural  remains  found  in 
the  mounds.  Peculiarly  enough,  D.  G.  Brinton,  reasoning  from  the  analogy 
of  the  cultural  character  of  the  shellmounds  with  that  of  the  Indian  tribes 
which  the  explorers  met  in  this  country,  thinks  he  has  found  an  argument 
against  a  comparatively  high  age  of  the  shellmounds.  W.  H.  Dall  considers 
the  lower  strata  of  his  well-explored  Aleutian  shellmounds  to  have  an  age 
of  about  1,000  vears.     (Contributions,  /.  c,  p.  53.) 

^  Abbott,  I.  c,  p.  44. 


36        University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

kinds  of  bones  lie  scattered  about.  It  would  be  an  easy  matter  to 
show  tliat  the  last  inhabitants  of  the  hill  exhibited  the  later  cul- 
tural conditions  which  prevailed  during  the  time  of  the  Incas  in 
the  vallej's  of  Pisco  and  lea,  about  1460  A.D. 

Returning  to  California,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  hill- 
like camp  places  of  the  Indians  in  the  interior  of  the  country 
represented  a  local  variation  of  the  shellmounds  along  the  shore. 
The  form  and  structure  of  these  camping  places  resemble  the 
shellmounds  of  the  coast.  The  material  differs  in  part,  since  the 
inhabitants  of  the  inland  had  fewer  shells  at  their  disposal. 
These  camping  places  were  inhabited  by  the  Indians  quite  re- 
cently, or  are  even  now  inhabited.''^  The  time  when  the  shell- 
mounds of  the  Bay  shore  were  vacated  by  their  owners  was  there- 
fore probably  not  very  long  ago.  With  this  view  coincides  the 
fact  that  in  the  upper  strata  of  the  shellmound  burial  is  repre- 
sented by  cremation ;  a  form  of  burial  observed  up  to  the  most 
recent  times  among  the  Indians  of  California.  The  white  immi- 
grants settled  first  on  the  seacoast,  and  it  is  therefore  natural 
that  the  aborigines  retreated  earlier  from  their  shellmounds  than 
their  brethren  in  the  interior  did  from  their  camp  places. 

Thus,  while  the  history  of  the  shellmounds  of  this  region  prob- 
ably reaches  back  more  than  a  thousand  years  into  the  past,  it 
must  have  extended  almost  to  the  threshold  of  modern  times. 
The  fact  that  their  roots  reached  far  back  into  the  prehistoric 
period  of  California  does  not  prevent  our  seeing  the  tops  devel- 
oping almost  to  the  present  day. 

Cultural  St.\ges  Represented. 

If  we  attribute  to  the  shellmound  an  age  representing  many 
centuries,  cultural  differences  should  bo  indicated  in  the  succes- 
sive .strata.    For  it  is  ir(ip().ssil)l('  tliat  the  cnltur.-il  sfjito  of  oTie  and 


"'  The  old  Indian  (•arii[)iiif4  |iluc,e  at  Knight's  Landitifi'  (on  the  Fjiir 
Ranch),  at  the  mouth  of  a  tributary  of  the  Sacramento  river,  was  inhabited, 
according  to  authentic  information  (T.  (.'oleman),  as  late  as  1S49  by  150-200 
"Digger"  Indians.  They  departed  in  18(5.5.  The  shells,  of  which  only  a 
small  number  have  been  found,  are  of  Mytilns.  A  similar  mound  in  (!olusa 
county,  20  miles  to  the  nortlnvest,  is  still  populated  l)y  Indians.  The  Wintuii 
Indians  are  still  accustomed  to  obtain  shells  for  food  by  diving  into  the 
river.  This  caused  Powers  (/.  c,  p.  '1X\)  to  surmise  Ihat  a  race  somewhat 
like  theirs  miglit  have  erected  these  shellmounds. 


1907]  Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmound.  37 

the  same  place  should  have  remained  stationary  for  many  cen- 
turies and,  even  judjiing  by  the  mass  alone,  the  mound  could  not 
have  reached  such  a  heijiht  in  less  than  a  considerable  number  of 
centuries.  In  atteinptini^'  to  discover  possible  cultural  differences 
we  unfortunately  meet  with  several  difdculties.  The  action  of 
the  climate  has  destroyed  in  all  the  strata  the  objects  which  con- 
sisted of  perishable  materials.  Only  the  more  resistant  things  re- 
mained. But  the  perishable  materials  are  frequently  those  in 
which  the  decorative  sense  of  man  expresses  itself  most  easily, 
and  in  which  cultural  differences  are  most  distinctly  shown.  A 
further  unfortunate  circumstance  arises  from  the  ji:eneral  trend 
to  simplicity  and  primitiveness  of  the  tools  of  the  inhabitants  of 
all  shellmounds.  So  that  the  visible  cultural  differences  which 
would  generally  appear  with  a  people  of  changing  forms  of  life 
are  imperfectly  expressed.  Finally,  many  objects  give  only  par- 
tial evidence  as  regards  form  and  use,  for  they  were  often  muti- 
lated previous  to  their  deposition  in  the  strata. 

In  examining  the  implements  of  successive  layers  of  the 
mound  we  find  that  awls  and  certain  knife-like  tools  found  in 
nearly  all  known  shellmounds  are  met  with  in  all  of  the  strata, 
while  ornaments  consisting  of  Haliotis  shells  and  other  simple 
objects  of  decoration  made  of  shells,  corresponding  in  general 
appearance  to  those  which  are  still  in  use  among  the  Indians,  are 
met  with  in  the  graves  of  the  Vlth  to  the  Vlllth  strata.  In  the 
deepest  strata,  however,  there  have  not  been  found  any  bone 
beads,  ornaments  of  Haliotis  shells,  or  saw-like  tools  such  as  are 
known  above  the  Vlllth  stratum.  Thus  there  is  some  support  for 
the  suggestion  that  cultural  differences  are  expressed  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  mound. 

One  of  the  most  striking  differences  indicating  a  change  in 
the  character  of  the  people  whose  cultural  stages  are  represented 
in  the  successive  strata  is  found  in  the  different  forms  of  burial. 
The  use  of  cremation  appears  for  the  first  time  in  the  4th  stratum 
and  extends  to  the  upper,  completely  undisturbed  stratum  (II). 
In  the  IVth  stratum  out  of  11  bone  awls  onlj'  4  are  calcined,  while 
in  the  Ilnd  stratum  44  in  61.  In  the  latter  the  great  amount  of 
ash  intermingled  with  calcined  human  bones  becomes  very  no- 
ticeable.   Powers  relates  in  his  great  work  on  the  California  tribes 


38         University  of  Californm  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  7 

that  most  of  them  practiced  cremation,  and  concerning  the  Ka- 
rok,  Yurok,  and  Wintun  he  relates  that  they  bury  their  dead, 
while  the  Yokuts  under  certain  circumstances  make  use  of  both 
customs.    The  inhabitants  of  the  upper  strata  of  the  mound  may 
undoubtedly  be  assumed  to  have  followed  the  customs  of  the  ma- 
jority of  modern  Californian  tribes  in  the  disposal  of  their  dead. 
Contrasting  with  this  custom  is  burial  in  the  ground.     In  this 
connection  interesting  evidence  is  furnished  by  the  strata  of  this 
mound:  here  at  least  cremation  was  preceded  by  interment.    In 
strata  IV  to  VIII  of  this  mound  we  find  this  custom  prevailing, 
and  we  are  forced  to  assume  it  to  have  been  practiced  by  the 
population  living  on  the  mound  during  the  time  from  the  deposi- 
tion of  the  lower  part  of  stratum  VIII  to  that  of  the  middle  of 
stratum  V.    In  their  manner  of  burial  the  knees  were  drawn  up, 
resting  upon  the  side,  resembling  on  the  whole  the  mode  of  burial 
in  the  shellmounds  of  Santa  Barbara  county  in  California,  and 
in  those  found  in  Oregon.     Instead  of  suggesting  that  the  mode 
of  burial  is  a  recent  one,  the  findings  in  the  lower  strata  of  the 
mound  at  Emeryville  might  hint  that  possibly  the  shellmounds 
of  Southern  California  and  Oregon  are  older  than  is  at  present 
believed.     The  Yokuts  likewise  bury  their  dead  with  drawn-up 
knees,  but  whether  lying  on  one  side  is  not  mentioned.     Also  of 
the  Wintun  detailed  information  as  regards  their  mode  of  burial 
is  missing.    But  even  if  a  majority  of  tribes  should  still  practice 
the  form  which  prevailed  in  the  middle  strata  of  the  mound,  this 
would  not  change  the  fact  that  the  whole  mode  of  burial  at  this 
place  designates  an  earlier  ethnical  stage.    The  manner  in  which 
the  inhabitants  of  the  lower  strata  of  the  mound — say  from  the 
bottom  portions  of  the  Vlllth  stratum  to  the  bottom  of  the  Xth — 
buried  their  dead  is  not  known,  because  no  graves  or  other  evi- 
dences of  burial  appear  in  them.     It  is  not  impossible  that  their 
mode  of  burial  differed  again  from  the  two  kinds  of  burial  found 
in  the  strata  lying  above. 

Another  striking  difference  between  the  upper  and  lower  lay- 
ers is  found  in  the  characteristic  implements  of  the  strata.  This 
difference  is  best  represented  by  a  comparative  table.  In  order 
to  nri(|cist;iri(l  this  better,  we  ^ive  the  relative  voluiiie  of  v.wth 
moved   for  each  siratnni.     In  the  table  the  volume  of  the  VTIth 


1907  I  Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmound.  39 

stratum  (about  100  cubic  feet)  has  been  taken  as  the  unit. 
Bracketed  figures  in  the  different  columns  denote  the  number  of 
objects  which  might  have  been  expected  as  the  proportional  con- 
tent of  one  of  the  middle  strata.  In  the  last  two  columns  the 
contents  of  the  IXth  stratum  have  for  practical  purposes  been 
used  as  a  basis. 


Layers 

Relative 
Contents 

Rubbed* 

stone 

implements 

Obsidians 

Hlaked  stone 

implements 

excepting  obsidian 

Knife-like 
implements 

RouKti 

awl-likc 

implements 

I 

5.5 

2[5] 

2[2] 

— 

[6] 

-[8] 

II 

10.6 

24[10] 

11[5] 

6  [10] 

[13] 

-[16] 

III 

7.3 

3[7] 

4[4] 

4[7] 

[9] 

-[11] 

IV 

4.2 

4 

o 

4 

[5] 

-[6] 

V 

3.4 

4[4] 

1[1] 

5(2) 

[4] 

-[5] 

VI 

1.5 

-[1] 

-[1] 

3 

[1] 

-[2] 

VII 

1 

-[1] 

2[1] 

6^ 

[1] 

-[1] 

VII" 

2.2 

-[2] 

-[-] 

9 

i[9]r 

[11] 

VIII 

7.4 

1[7] 

1[4] 

24 

'  (28) 

-[3] 

IX 

3.3 

-[3] 

1[2] 

62 

4[4] 

5[5] 

X  1.8        -[2]  -[1]         17  J  -[2]  4[3] 

Parentheses  in  the  4th  column  denote  the  nnmber  of  chipped 
stones  which  may  actually  be  assumed  as  tools. 

It  is  evident  that  the  character  of  the  objects  in  the  upper 
strata  is  entirely  different  from  that  of  the  implements  which 
are  found  in  the  lower  beds.  Well  polished  stone  implements  and 
obsidians  diminish  the  nearer  we  come  to  the  bottom.  The  spo- 
radic occurrence  of  a  well  polished  stone  implement  in  the  8th 
stratum  of  the  first  column  has  an  entirely  abnormal  aspect,  in 
view  of  the  otherwise  complete  absence  of  such  objects  from  the 
Vlth  stratum  downward.  The  abnormal  increase  of  objects  of 
the  1st  and  2nd  kinds  in  the  Ilnd  stratum  is  doubtless  due  to  the 
custom  of  throwing  their  possessions  into  the  fire  during  the  cre- 
mation of  the  dead.  Still,  the  Ilnd  stratum  yielded  a  sufificient 
number  of  fragments  of  similar  objects  which  were  evidently  lost 
in  other  ways.  So  few  are  furnished  by  the  contents  of  the  lower 
strata  that  their  limited  use  is  apparently  indicated.  In  fact, 
even  the  Vth  stratum  shares  this  poverty,  for  its  four  polished 
implements  are  only  represented  by  fragments  of  metate-like 
stones  and  a  tablet  of  slate,  polished  on  one  side.  In  the  lower 
strata  flaked  stones  (of  local  materials),  bone  splinters  of  an  awl- 


Except  mortars  aud  pestles. 


40        University  of  California  Fublications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

like  shape,  and  knife-like  tools  of  bone  predominate.  Among  the 
flaked  stones,  real  implements  are  very  numerous ;  they  are  miss- 
ing in  the  upper  strata.  Their  technique  is  primitive.  On  one 
side  they  are  flat  and  are  worked  on  the  other  side  only.  This 
working,  too,  is  crude,  and  the  finishing  primitive.  The  turtle- 
back  form  is  present.  Different  kinds  of  scraper-like  tools  of 
primitive  form,  and  of  drill-like  sharpened  stone  fragments,  must 
have  been  more  common  implements  in  the  hands  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  this  stage  than  among  the  dwellers  on  the  upper  strata, 
where  these  tools  are  lacking. 

A  well  formed  implement  of  flaked  stone,  worked  on  both 
sides,  was  found  low  down  in  stratum  VIII  (a  spear-like  blade, 
pi.  10,  fig.  14).  Strata  IX  and  X  off'er  nothing  similar.  The 
leaf -like  blade  from  stratum  VIII  (pi.  6,  fig.  20),  where  a  crude 
workmanship  is  paired  with  an  attempt  at  more  regular  sharpen- 
ing of  the  edges,  does  not  favor  the  view  that  the  inhabitants  of 
the  mound  had  been  well  versed  from  the  beginning  in  the  pro- 
duction of  chipped  implements. 

Very  remarkable  is  the  occurrence  together  of  crude  splinters 
of  bone,  which  show  from  long  use  their  real  value  as  tools, 
and  the  neat,  almost  elegant,  knife-like  implements.  Among  the 
latter  we  find  the  only  ornamental  fragment  of  a  tool  of  bone 
obtained  during  the  whole  course  of  the  excavation.  The  people 
who  used  the  splinters  of  bone  for  their  tools  were  not  so  primi- 
tive but  that  they  possessed  elegant  objects  of  bone,  and  not  so 
far  advanced  but  that  they  were  often  satisfied  with  such  primi- 
tive implements  as  common  bone  splinters.  But  both  classes  of 
these  typical  tools  are  markedly  difl'erent  from  what  the  upper 
strata  of  the  mound  offer  in  the  line  of  implements.  Hence  the 
people  of  the  lower  strata  must  have  represented  a  somewhat 
different  mental  type  or  a  different  degree  of  mental  training. 

It  seems  advisable,  from  what  we  know,  to  separate  the  older 
inhabitants  who  had  settled  here  and  raised  the  foundations  of 
the  mound  up  to  the  middle  part  of  the  Vlllth  stratum,  from  the 
later  population  of  the  grave  period.  They  may  have  been  neo- 
lithic, they  may  have  been  connected  with  the  following  gener- 
al ion  by  some  coiiniiou  traits,  although  there  is  little  evidence 
for  this;  but  the  two  people  cerlairily  differed  in  eulliifal  cliar- 
actei'istics. 


1907]  Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmound.  41 

The  race  that  commenced  buildinfr  in  the  middle  of  the  8th 
stratum  was  apparently  less  different  from  the  population  of  the 
upper  strata  than  from  its  predecessors.  But  differences  can 
here,  also,  be  discovered.  The  chipped  tools  of  local  materials 
still  continue  for  some  time  (about  to  Vila),  and  obsidian  seems 
to  have  come  to  them  as  a  rather  rare  material.  Only  a  few  bone 
implements  from  grave  8  are  extant  in  this  group  of  strata.  Con- 
trasted with  the  usage  of  the  people  of  the  upper  strata  is  also 
the  use  of  bone  arrow  blades,  which  the  last  inhabitants  of  the 
mound  apparently  did  not  possess.  They  had  not  yet  departed 
from  an  extended  employment  of  bone  as  a  working  material ;  a 
fact  usually  more  characteristic  of  a  primitive  people  than  of  one 
further  advanced. 

One  observation  should  still  be  made  in  this  connection.  It  is 
a  striking  fact  that  in  the  fifth  stratum  and  its  immediate  prox- 
imity a  number  of  objects  appear,  the  likeness  of  which  was  not 
found  elsewhere  in  the  whole  mound.    They  are : 

(1)  Fragments  of  metate-like  stones,  stratum  V. 

A  long,  dull,  chisel-like  tool  of  horn,  from  stratum  V. 
A  tablet  of  slate  polished  on  one  side,  stratum  V. 

(2)  Pieces  of  antlers,  truncated  for  use  as  tools,  stratum  V, 

and  a  knife-like  implement,  stratum  V. 

It  seems  possible  that  such  sporadic  types  of  tools  were  left 
by  a  people  that  only  temporarily  inhabited  the  mound.  Since, 
however,  up  to  the  present  time  parallel  investigations  have  fur- 
nished but  little  material,  such  an  hypothesis  cannot  be  tested  as 
to  its  exactness ;  nor  is  it  possible  to  state  from  what  region  they 
might  have  come. 


42        University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  7 


PART  II.— ARTIFACTS  UNEARTHED  AT  THE 
EMERYVILLE  SHELL]\IOUND.* 

The  artifacts,  complete  and  fragmentary,  unearthed  during 
the  excavation  of  the  Emeryville  shellmound  are  of  stone,  bone 
or  horn,  and  shell.^-  In  number,  the  objects  of  bone  and  horn 
about  equal  those  of  stone,  or  if  the  large  quantity  of  chipped 
stone  in  the  lower  strata  be  deducted,  being  mainly  workshop 
chips,  the  bone  specimens  are  even  in  the  majority.  Although 
shell  heaps  usually  abound  in  bone  implements,  the  large  num- 
ber of  such  implements  recovered  in  this  mound  is  quite  remark- 
able, especially  since  the  mound  at  West  Berkeley,  only  two  miles 
distant,  seems  to  possess  a  much  smaller  number  of  them.  There 
the  bone  implements  recovered  bear  the  proportion  of  from  1 :5 
to  1 :10  of  those  of  stone,  so  in  the  case  of  bone  implements  we 
find  verification  of  the  observation  regarding  the  less  frequent 
occurrence  of  the  bones  of  animals  as  waste  in  proportion  to  other 
waste.^^  The  occupants  of  the  West  Berkeley  mound  being  essen- 
tially fishermen,  apparently  gave  less  time  to  the  chase,  and  as  a 
result  may  have  neglected  handicrafts  in  which  bone  implements 
were  used. 
A.  Implements  made  of  Stone. 

a.  Made  by  (j rinding. 
1.  Mortal's. 

Stone  mortars  were  among  the  most  common  and  most  useful 
implements  that  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  land  possessed, 
being  used  for  the  preparation  of  meal  and  for  other  piii-poscs. 

*  For  the  final  literary  form  of  the  second  half  of  tliis  ii;i|icr  T.  !•].  fJcid- 
dard  Ih  resj)onsible. 

"^'Remains  of  jiottery  are  found  in  quantities  in  the  shelhnoiinds  on  the 
Atlantic  Coast  (ef.  Abbott,  /.  t\,  p.  43a),  and  also  in  those  of  other  localities 
(Brazil,  Peru).  They  do  not,  of  course,  a])pear  in  California  shellniounds 
since  stone  pots  and  baskets  were  used  in  their  place  at  all  times. 

""The  specimens  of  bone  implements  recovered  in  shellmouruls  are  of 
great  importance  in  the  study  of  the  use  of  such  implements  among  primi- 
tive peoples,  since  they  are  so  rarely  found  in  other  fields  of  research  (cf.  also 
Abbott,  /.  c,  p.  205).  Still  shellmounds  greatly  differ  in  this  respect.  While 
bont;  implements  are  "quite  abundant"  in  the  shellmounds  of  New  England, 
the  same  as  here  (Wyman,  Am.  Naturalist,  I,  p.  .')S1),  the  mounds  in  New 
Jersey  yield  only  one  bone  to  every  .'{,000  stone  implements.    (Abbott,  /.  c.) 


1907] 


Vhle. — The  Emeryville  Shelbnound. 


43 


Correspondingly  numerous  therefore  are  these  objects,  found 
mostly  in  fragments,  and  scattered  thi-ough  nearly  all  the  strata 
from  the  second  to  the  tenth.  There  are  three  perfect  specimens 
and  eleven  fragments  in  our  collection,  nearly  all  made  of  lava. 
The  largest  of  the  mortars,  1-9102,  fig,  3,  was  recovered  quite 
accidentally  near  g  in  plan  III  at  the  extreme  western  end  of 


Fig.  3.     X  ^.     A  large  mortar. 


the  mound.  Judging  from  the  place  of  its  discovery,  about  3% 
inches  below  the  surface,  the  mortar  must  have  been  lost  in  about 
the  middle  period  while  the  foot  of  the  mound  was  increasing 
from  n  to  p.  Its  outside  surface  is  rough  like  the  natural  boulder, 
it  is  1  foot  long  by  9  inches  wide  and  TY2  inches  high.  Within  it 
is  oval  and  measures  6  to  7  inches  in  diameter  and  5  inches  in 
depth.  The  smaller  mortar,  1-8705,  fig.  4,  was  found  in  stratum 
VI.  On  the  outside  it  is  rounded  off  and  ornamented  with  en- 
graved vertical  lines,  which  ai*e  intersected  near  the  edge  by  a 
horizontal  one.  The  edge  is  partly  worn  away  by  use.  Such 
simple  lines  as  an  ornamentation  of  the  outside  are  occasionally 
observed  on  California  mortars. 

1-8664,  fig.  5,  a  small  mortar  from  stratum  III,  is  of  different 
shape,  oval  both  in  its  outline  and  in  cross  section,  the  bottom 
being  slightly  flattened;  it  has  a  rather  small  round  cavity,  IV2 
inches  in  diameter  and  one-sixth  iiieh  deep.    It  may  have  served 


44 


University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol. 


for  the  pounding  up  of  substances  which  were  used  only  in  small 
quantities,  such  as  color  pigments.  The  width  of  this  mortar  is 
21/^  inches,  its  height  and  thickness  1%>  inches.  Powers  presents 
a  view  of  a  similar  specimen  from  California,  a  proof  that  this 
type  occurred  in  this  region.  A  fragment,  1-8810  of  the  collec- 
tion from  stratum  VIII,  may  be  the  bottom  of  a  similar  utensil. 


Fig.  4.     About  one-half  natural  size.     Fig.  5.     X  %.     Small  mortars. 


Some  additional  types  of  mortars  are  represented  among  the 
fragments;  they  will  be  given  below  in  the  order  in  which  they 
were  recovered.  1-8594,  fig.  6,  from  stratum  II,  is  one  of  several 
fragments  of  this  stratum  and  belongs  to  a  relatively  advanced 
type,  resembling  a  vessel.  These  stone  vessels  had  a  fairly  even 
thickness  of  the  sides  of  about  an  inch,  and  were  fashioned  quite 
regularly  without  and  within.  This  rim  is  flattened  and  slopes  in- 
ward. The  diameter  of  the  complete  mortars  may  have  been  a 
foot.  This  type  of  mortar  is  quite  common  in  California.  The 
collection  from  Santa  Rosa  Island  in  the  University  INFuseum 
made  by  Dr.  Jones  contains  several  similar  specimens.  1-8707 
fig.  7.  stratum  IV,  is  an  odd  fragment.  Its  well  fashioned  bottom 
l>ait  i.s  suj-rounded  by  a  rim  which  in  turn  is  bordered  by  two 
chainbcrs  which  exactly  correspond;  the  surface  between  them 
is  broken.  This  fragment  may  also  have  been  pai't  of  a  mortar, 
although  it  is  not  possible  now  to  restore  it  to  any  shape  repre- 
sented among  the  i'Miniliar  types.  Fig.  8,  l-!)077.  shows  a  frag- 
ment of  M  mortar-  recovered  in  the  Xth  sti'atiini,  and  it  is  the  only 
one  found  lowei'  tlian  stratniii  VJIl.  It  lay  hardly  an  inch  from 
tlie  li;isi'  oT  llie  nionnd.      It  lias  a   fx'culiarly  jagged  shape;  the 


1907] 


Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmound. 


45 


convex  exteiior  is  the  roufj:h  bowlder  stone,  as  are  the  uneven 
sides,  ])iit  the  inner  concave  surface  is  ground  down  smooth.  The 
peculiar  jauficd  shape  may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  it  Ls  a 
piece  of  a  mortar,  the  rim  of  which  by  long  usage  had  been  worn 
away  in  places,  and  as  a  result  points  were  formed.     The  collec- 


Figs.  6,  7,  and  8.     X  Vt.     Fragments  of  mortars. 

tion  of  Dr.  Jones  from  Santa  Kosa  contains  a  mortar  with  a 
jagged  rim,  caused  probably  also  by  wearing  away,  but  in  that 
case  the  points  of  the  rim  show  some  decoration,  unlike  the  pres- 
ent fragment.     1-8848.  fig.  9,  stratum  VIIo,  may  throw  some 


10 


Fig.  9.     X  %.    Fig.  10.     X  V2-     Fragments  of  mortars. 

light  on  the  possible  cause  of  these  indentations  resulting  from 
long  usage.  In  the  latter  specimen  the  surface  of  the  bulging 
portion  is  rough,  as  in  1-9077. 


46         University  of  California  Publications  ii>  Ain.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

The  small  fragment,  1-8621.  fig-.  10,  stratum  II,  has  to  be  in- 
cluded also  in  the  class  of  mortar-like  utensils.  It  is  made  of  a 
soft  material  resembling  steatite,  it  curves  as  if  it  were  a  handle 
and  is  broken  off  at  one  end,  while  the  other  rounded  end  shows 
marks  of  blows.  This  object  may  be  compared  to  the  handle  of 
the  cup-shaped  vessel  of  steatite  from  Dos  Pueblos  in  Southern 
California  and  shown  by  Professor  Putnam,  1.  c,  pi.  VI,  fig.  5 
(cf.  1.  c,  p.  110).  Similar  utensils  from  Santa  Catalina  Island 
and  other  places  are  mentioned  there;  hence  it  may  be  assumed 
that  this  type  of  utensils  was  used  by  the  occupants  of  the  mound 
during  its  last  period. 

Fig.  11,  1-8533,  from  stratum  I,  shows  a  stone  fragment,  hol- 
lowed out  like  a  mortar.  The  upper  rim  of  the  specimen  must 
have  had  a  sharp  angle,  as  the  outer  surface  is  almost  vertical 
while  the  concavity  is  rather  shallow,  forming  a  cup  \vith  a  con- 
siderable diameter. 


12 
It 

Fig.  11.  X  Ms-  Fragment  of  a  mortar.  Fig.  l;3.  X  Mj-  Fragment  of 
a  stone  used  for  grinding. 

2.  Flat  Stones. 

It  is  only  from  three  small  fragments  that  the  presence  of  this 
type  within  the  mound  may  be  inferred.  All  three  were  recov- 
ered in  stratum  V;  one  of  them,  1-8751,  is  shown  in  figure  12. 
Judging  fiom  the  fragments,  these  grinding  stones  were  square 
in  shape,  about  li/^  to  2  inches  in  thickness  and  were  worn  smooth, 
both  on  the  horizontal  surface  and  on  the  sides  and  ends.  The 
occurrence  of  fiat  grindstones  is  not  unprecedented  in  California : 
some  liave  been  found  in  Sonoma  county""  and  clsevvliere.  They 
were  perhaps  used  in  tlic  m;iini('actnro  of  shell  ornnment.s  and 
beads. 


Moorehcad,  /.  c,  p.  '-'91. 


1907] 


Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmound. 


47 


3.  Pestles. 

Many  fragments  haviiifi'  the  usual  form  were  found,  but  only 
one  was  perfect,  and  that  of  unusual  shape.  1-8670,  fi<jf.  13,  was 
recovered  in  cut  A.  6  inches  below  the  surface.  It  is  6%  inches 
long,  3  inches  wide,  and  2%  inches  thick,  tapering  toward  the 
pestle-like  rounded  end,  the  other  end  being  flat.  Marks  on  it 
show  that  it  was  also  used  as  a  hammer.  Sunk  into  one  of  the 
sides,  at  about  the  center  of  gravity,  is  a  long  conical  groove  about 
one-third  of  an  inch  deep ;  the  opposite  side  shows  the  beginning 
of  another  such  groove.  They  may  have  been  worn  into  the  stone 
by  using  the  broad  side  of  the  implement  in  driving  stakes,  etc. 


13 


14 


IS 


Fig.  13.  X  Vi-  Pestle  with  depression  on  one  side.  Fig.  14.  X  V2-  ^ 
grooved  sinker.    Fig.  15.     X  %.    Upper  end  of  a  pestle. 

The  beginning  of  a  second  groove,  otherwise  superfluous,  on  the 
opposite  side  seems  to  bear  this  out,  as  do  the  marks  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  broad  end.  These  latter  indications  are  a  proof  that 
the  utensil  was  not  used  as  a  pestle  only.  This  is  not  the  only 
instance  of  a  pestle  with  side  grooves.    Ch.  Rau  pictures  a  very 


48 


University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  EtJin.      [Vol.  7 


similar  one  from  Tesuque  in  New  Mexico.*^^  ]\Ir.  Stevenson's 
opinion  that  the  side  grooves  served  for  holding  the  pigment 
which  had  just  been  ground  by  the  pestle  seems  to  be  merelj'  a 
conjecture  on  his  part.  A  stone  was  found  in  the  West  Berkeley 
shellmonnd  which  seems  arbitrarily  to  combine  several  purposes, 
— a  groove  encircling  it  shows  its  use  as  a  sinker,  a  semispherieal 
cavity  which  at  its  widest  part  breaks  into  the  groove  points  to 
its  use  as  a  mortar. 


t6 


19 


n 


18 


Fig.  16  and  17.  X  Mj.  The  lower  ends  of  pestles.  I'ig.  18.  X  %•  Stone 
used  for  hammer  with  depression  for  fingers.  Fig.  1!).  X  V-i-  A  new  type 
of  implement  of  unknown  use. 


"  Obsorviitions  on  Ww  <'uj)-shap(>il  sfulpturc  in  Contiib.  to  North  American 
i;thiif>logy,  ISK'J,  V,  fig.  vi9,  with  j».  47  repeated  by  Stephen  D.  Peet  in  The 
MdiifKlhuMilcrs,  181(2,  1,  p.  '),  fig.  o. 


1907]  Vhlr. — The  EmeryviUr  Shrllntmind.  49 

Tlic  17  fragments  of  pestles  of  usual  shape  were  fairly  uni- 
formly distributed  throughout  all  the  strata,  as  was  the  ease  with 
the  mortars.  However,  7  of  these  came  from  stratum  II  alone. 
There  were  no  peculiarities  to  be  noted  in  the  fragments  as  to 
their  forms.  They  were  about  2%  inches  thick  and  were  rounded 
off  at  the  lower  end.  The  upper  end  sometimes  tapered  after  a 
conical  swelling  iiinuediately  next  the  gi-inding  surface.  They 
were  cut  straight  off  at  the  upper  end,  unless  indeed  the  abruptly 
cut  surface  is  the  result  of  a  previous  breaking.  Sharply  x)ointed 
or  button-like  ornamentations  at  the  upper  ends  which  are  usual 
in  those  found  in  California''^  were  not  noticed.  Figures  15  to  17 
show  three  fragments,— 1-8882,  1-8597,  and  1-8666  from  strata 
VIII,  II,  and  from  the  cut  A.  Of  these,  the  first  illustrates  the 
upper  end  of  a  pestle,  the  other  two,  lower  ends. 

The  little  object  1-8620  from  stratum  II,  plate  12,  fig.  11, 
seems  to  be  best  included  under  pestle  stones.  It  is  made  of  fine 
grained  stone,  which  would  point  to  its  use  for  more  delicate 
purposes.  It  is  a  truncated  cone,  with  oval  section,  1%  inches 
wide  and  1%^  inches  thick.  The  lower  base  is  slightly  arched 
and,  as  can  plainly  be  seen,  is  scratched  slightly  by  use ;  a  small 
middle  cavity  in  the  narrow  upper  surface  shows  traces  of  as- 
phaltum.    It  may  have  been  used  as  a  pestle. 

4.     Hammer-like  Stones. 

Strangely  enough,  only  two  such  implements  were  found  in 
this  mound,  while  in  the  West  Berkeley  mound  several  that  con- 
clusively belonged  to  this  class  were  unearthed. 

One  of  these,  a  boulder  stone  the  size  of  one's  fist,  oval  in 
shape  and  flattened,  was  found  in  the  lowest  stratum,  X.  The 
marks  of  blows  making  the  side  edges  uneven  show  its  use  as  a 
hammer.  The  other,  1-8720,  fig.  18,  from  stratum  IV,  is  one  of 
the  familiar  type  having  a  groove  for  the  insertion  of  the  fingers. 
It  is  a  stone  314  inches  long,  3  inches  wide,  and  of  an  uneven 
thickness  not  exceeding  1%  inches,  flattened  oft'  at  its  thickest 
(lower)  end.  There  is  a  depression  in  each  of  the  broad  sides. 
The  surface  of  the  indentations  is  dotted  with  small  holes.  Similar 
stones  have  been  found  in  many  places  in  the  United  States, — in 


<*  Putnam,  I.  c,  pp.  87-89;  Moorehead,  I.  c,  p.  290. 


50        University  of  Calif orma,  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,*'^  on  the  Aleutians,'^"  and  elsewhere. 
Abbott  has  pointed  out  the  fact  that  the  edges  of  some  of  these 
stones  eoiild  not  very  well  have  been  used  for  hammering  since 
they  do  not  show  the  signs  of  such  usage.  The  stone  in  question 
was  evidently  used  in  two  ways, — as  a  hammer  at  the  lower  flat 
surface,  which  is  from  five-eighths  to  li/g  inches  wide  and  in  this 
case  provided  with  indentations  serving  for  the  insertion  of  the 
finger ;  and  as  a  hammer  at  the  flat  sides  for  the  driving  of  stakes, 
etc.,  in  which  ease  it  was  grasped  by  the  rims.  The  pits  in  the 
depressions  were  probably  the  result  of  this  latter  use  of  the  im- 
plement. The  writer  has  noticed  that  just  such  flat  stones  were 
used  in  Bolivia  for  the  driving  of  stakes,  and  there,  too,  the  broad 
side  which  gave  the  blow  was  pitted.  The  material  used  is  hard 
sandstone. 

5.  Flat  Stones  Pointed  at  both  Ends. 

Two  objects  of  this  form,  coming  from  stratum  II,  represents 
a  new  type  of  implement.  They  are  almost  identical  in  shape. 
One  of  them,  1-8604,  is  shown  in  fig.  19.  They  consist  of  long, 
flat,  quadrangular  boulder-stones,  3%  and  3%  inches  long,  with 
an  even  width  and  thickness  of  1%  inches.  Both  ends  are  simply 
sharpened  to  a  point,  and  the  broad  sides,  top  and  bottom,  are 
shaved  off  as  far  as  the  middle  of  the  stone.  In  form,  the  stones 
are  similar  to  a  wooden  top  of  today. 

6.  Sinker-like  Stones. 

Stones  of  this  description  form  a  large  class,  exhibiting,  how- 
ever, great  diversities  of  shape.  They  all  seem  to  have  sei-ved  the 
same  purpose  since  most  of  them  show  indisputable  signs  of  such 
usage. 

About  18  stones  of  this  kind  were  found  in  the  mound.  As 
I'egards  their  varying  form  and  utility,  they  iiiny  be  classed  as 
follows : 

I.  Spherical  and  oval  stones  with  a  peripheral  groove :  Fig. 
20,  1-8669,  shows  a  spherical  stone  of  this  kind,  found  at  a  depth 
of  5  feet  in  cut  A.  1-8534,  fig.  21,  a  fragment  of  an  oval  stone 
with  a  groove  about  its  largest  circumference  is  from  sti-atuin  T. 


'"•Abbott,  I.  c,  pp.  425  to  431,  figs.  :{99  to  404.     Clias.  Rau,  /.  r.  Sinitlison 
Coiitrib.,  No.  297,  Vol.  XXII,  p.  20,  figs.  80  to  81,  and  p.  22. 
'"  Dall,  I.  c,  p.  55. 


1907] 


Uhlc. — The  Emeryville  Shellmound. 


51 


II.  Flat  boulder  stones  with  notches  in  the  corresponding 
sides  for  fastening  them :  Two  of  these  were  found  in  the  upper 
strata;  one,  from  sti-atum  IV.  is  shown  in  figure  22. 


20 


21 


'-"*? 


Fig.  20.     X  %.     Figs.  21  and  22.     X  %.     Sinker-like  stones. 


III.  Stones  witli  holes  pierced  through  them  by  which  they 
were  suspended :  These  form  the  type  that  may  with  the  most 
certainty  be  classed  as  sinkers.  1-8535,  plate  12,  fig.  7,  from 
stratum  I,  is  the  only  specimen  of  this  class  found. 

IV.  Pear-shaped  and  kindred  stones;  also  conical  pendant 
stones :  The  fourth  class  is  the  largest,  in  that  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  shapes  may  be  included  in  it.  The  following  are  to  be 
counted  in  with  this  class: 

a.  Pear-shaped  stones  and  others,  though  slighter,  still  very 
like  them.    This  type  is  represented  by : 

1.  A  perfect  pear-shaped  stone.  1-8611,  plnte  10.  fig.  2,  from 
stratum  II. 


52         University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  7 

2.  More  or  less  fragmentary  bits,  1-8612,  3,  the  first  without 
a  doubt,  the  second  probably  from  stratum  II.  See  1-8613,  plate 
10,  fig.  1. 

3.  Five  fragments  of  stones  of  a  slenderer,  less  perfect  though 
similar  form,  1-8614,  5  and  6  (plate  10,  figs.  5,  3,  8),  1-8617  and 
1-8718  (plate  10,  fig.  4),  the  latter  one  from  stratum  IV,  the 
others  from  II. 

b.  Inverted  pear-shaped  stones,  some  flat.  This  shape  is  re- 
lated, though  distantly,  to  the  above.  Two  fragments,  1-8618 
and  1-8619,  from  stratum  II,  see  1-8618,  plate  10,  fig.  6. 

c.  A  conical  stone  Avith  slanting  lower  surface  (1-8719,  plate 
10,  fig.  7)  from  stratum  IV.  It  is  very  similar  in  shape  to  the 
upper  part  of  the  pear-shaped  stones. 

d.  A  pointed  stone,  1-8925.  from  stratum  VIII,  plate  10,  fig. 

9,  which  is  only  very  distantly  related  to  the  pear-shape  forms. 

These  stones  belong  to  that  class  of  objects  which  have  been 
interpreted  at  different  times  as  being : 

1.  Weights  for  determining  the  vertical. 

2.  Weights  for  weaving  apparatus. 

3.  Weights  used  in  spinning. 

4.  Weights  used  for  fishing  nets  or  lines. 

5.  Ornaments. 

6.  Medicine  stones  or  charms."^ 

A  number  of  articles  under  class  IV  (Form  IVo)  are  made 
of  hematite."^^    Of  the  objects  under  consideration,  1-8925  (plate 

10,  fig.  9)  is  made  of  the  same.  The  use  of  hematite  generally  pre- 
supposes that  an  implement  is  going  to  be  employed  as  a  weight. 
Since  the  forms  that  belong  to  this  class  merge  into  one  another 
in  an  uninterrupted  sei-ies,  one  is  justified  in  assuming  th;il  they 
were  all  weights. 

It  is  further  cleai-  that  the  shape  of  the  pear-like  stones,  wliich 
have  caused  so  much  sp(»culation,  must  have  been  fitted  for  sonic 
]);ifticul;n'  purpose.  This  is  to  be  inferred  rroiii  llie  fact  that 
stones  of  like  sha])e  have  been  found  in  widely  sei)arated  ])Mrts 

"  Dr.  L.  a.  Yjitcs,  Smiths.  Rep.,  1886,  pt.  1,  j).  L'fHi,  fiirtlior  oxplaiiuvl  in 
HuIIctin  of  the  Santa  Barbara  Soc.  of  Nat.  HiHtorv,  No.  L! ;  .MoorL'hciiil,  /.  c, 
pp.  L'41)  to  L'.')0,  etc. 

"Abbott,  I.  c,  p.  232,  fifr.  I'-Jf),  fidin  Illinois;  F{:ni,  SmitJi's  Contiii).,  |i. 
27,  No.  101,  from  TenncHSCe  (cf.  for  both  pi.  VIM,  fi^.  2)  ;  Mooicliead,  /.  c, 
p.  251,  fig.  29,  from  Santa  Barbara,  Cal. 


1907]  Vhlc. — The  Emeryville  SheUmound.  53 

of  the  United  States  outside  of  California,  in  iNIaine,^^  Massachu- 
setts,'* Ohio,'"'  Illinois,'"  and  elsewhere. 

Furthermore,  li.  IT.  Bancroft^'  has  made  the  important  as- 
sertion that  such  implements  are  usually  found  in  a  nuitilated 
condition.  This  is  borne  out  by  the  fact  that  out  of  the  nine 
pear-shaped  and  inverted  pear-shaped  stones  represented  by 
groups  4a  and  4i,  there  is  only  one  which  is  perfect.  It  is  to 
be  inferred  from  this  that,  however  elaborately  they  are  orna- 
mented, these  implements  were  put  to  essentially  practical  uses. 
Hence  the  theory  that  they  were  worn  as  ornaments  or  charms  is 
untenable.'^^ 

The  supposition  that  they  were  used  on  the  end  of  a  plumb 
line  is  also  invalid,  since  civilization  was  not  far  enough  advanced 
among  the  Indians  for  that  sort  of  thing.  Weaving  and  spin- 
ning apparatus  requiring  the  use  of  the  stones  as  weights  are  so 
rarely  found  that  we  cannot  explain  the  presence  of  such  a  large 
number  of  stones  in  that  way.  And  especially  not  in  California 
since  the  Indians  there  have  never  spun  nor  woven. 

Hence  the  only  explanation  left  is  that  they  were  used  in 
fishing.  The  great  quantities  of  such  implements  found  on  the 
coast  has  often  been  noted. "^  That  nine  were  found  in  a  shell- 
mound  such  as  the  one  at  Emeryville  substantiates  this  theory. 
They  have  also  been  noticed  in  a  number  of  other  shellmounds 
about  the  bay  (even  though  these  have  been  little  excavated),  as 
at  Ellis  Landing  and  in  Visitacion  Valley, *°  and  their  shape  is 
identically  the  same  (plate  10,  fig.  2).  There  is  one  from  a  shell- 
mound  on  Seaver's  Ranch  with  exactly  the  same  shape,  plate  10, 
fig.  1.     Drawings  were  made  by  J.  Deans  of  two  other  objects 


"  Moorehead,  I.  c,  p.  92,  fig.  113. 

'*Kau,  I.  c,  p.  27,  figs.  105-106,  Abbott,  pp.  228  and  230,  figs.  216  and  218. 

'« Abbott,  I.  c,  p.  233,  fig.  222,  Ran,  fig.  103. 

'"Abbott,  /.  c,  pp.  232  and  233,  figs.  221  and  223. 

"  Native  Races,  IV,  p.  711. 

"  According  to  Dr.  L.  G.  Yates,  Bulletin  2  of  the  Santa  Barbara  Soe.  of 
Nat.  Hist.,  the  California  Indians  regard  such  pear-shaped  stones  as  charms 
and  use  them  as  such.  This  is  analogous  to  their  superstitious  belief  con- 
cerning stone  hatchets  whose  original  significance  has  long  been  forgotten 
and  hence  is  no  explanation  of  the  original  use  to  which  these  articles  were 
put. 

■»  Cf .  F.  W.  Putnam,  /.  c,  p.  195. 

""See  Illustration  in  H.  H.  Bancroft's  Native  Races,  IV,  p.  711. 


54        University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

which  were  also  taken  from  the  same  shellmound  in  Visitacion 
Valley  and  which  had  like  forms.^^  If  we  accept  the  hypothesis 
that  these  stones  in  general  are  sinkers,  there  are  of  course  diffi- 
culties in  the  case  of  individual  stones,  that  must  be  explained 
away.  The  following  peculiarities  which  appear  must  be  men- 
tioned : 

1.  Occasional  peculiarities  in  material :  Some  are  not  very 
heavy,  some  rather  soft ;  and  in  others  the  ornamentation  either 
in  color,  grain,  or  crystalline  markings  is  so  prominent  that  an 
ornamental  use  is  suggested.  1-8615,  plate  10,  fig.  3,  seems  to  be 
a  stone  of  this  description, — the  material  of  which  it  is  made  is 
reddish  and  fine-grained,  and  ornamented  to  some  extent. 

2.  The  occasional  absolute  lack  of  any  contrivance  by  which 
the  implement  might  have  been  suspended:  1-8.925,  plate  10, 
fig.  9,  is,  for  instance,  of  this  kind.  It  is  for  the  greater  part  of 
its  length  absolutely  round  and  gradually  tapers  to  a  point.  The 
outer  end  is  in  the  form  of  a  handle  which  is  flattened  to  about 
one-half  inch  wide  and  one-quarter  inch  thick  and  is  rough  from 
the  marks  of  blows ;  the  main  part  of  the  instrument  is  smooth. 
The  handle-like  part  must,  from  its  form  and  roughness,  have 
sei'ved  to  fasten  it  by.  It  looks,  however,  more  as  though  it  were 
intended  to  fit  into  a  shaft,  rather  than  to  be  suspended.  It  is 
important  to  note  that  one  of  the  long  sides  is  entirely  covered 
with  asphaltum.  This  fact  excludes  the  possibility  that  it  was 
fastened  into  a  shaft.  It  must  further  be  called  to  mind  that,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  California  Indian  dancing  costume,  various 
rod-like  bits  of  stone  are  sometimes  fastened  on  by  means  of 
hangers,  the  provision  for  their  suspension  being  made  on  the 
stones  themselves.  The  use  of  asphaltum  in  securing  them  often 
did  away  with  otherwise  necessary  changes  in  their  form.  At 
any  rate  it  allowed  great  imperfection  in  foi'in. 

Fragment  1-8616,  plate  10,  fig.  8,  is  an  example  of  the  above; 
it  is  pear-shaped  and  the  upper  conical  point  is  encircled  by  a 
broad  band  of  asphaltum  which  served  for  its  attachment. 

The  sinker-like  stones  of  classes  I-III  present  fewer  difficulties 
in  their  exphnmlion  tlian  do  llic  p(^;n--sli;ipcd  find  kiiidred  ones. 


.Idiiriiiil  of  tlio  Antliroi)(il()gic;il   I  ustitiitii,  I.  <:,  j).  4.S!I. 


1907]  Vhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmound.  55 

The  use  of  flat  boulder  stones  with  side  grooves  as  net-sinkers  is 
agreed  to  by  all.**-  The  fact  that  here  as  in  the  East,  and  as  in 
the  shellmound  of  West  Berkeley,  many  of  these  have  been  found 
in  groups,  points  almost  conclusively  to  their  use  as  net  weights. 

Professor  Putnam  has  already  called  attention  to  the  use  of 
spherical  stones  (fig.  20),  with  a  peripherally  encircling  groove 
as  sinkers.^"  Similar  stones  are  also  found  in  shellmounds  in 
Massachusetts  and  in  the  Aleutian  Islands. 

Dr.  Yates^*  was  informed  by  an  Indian  that  such  was  the  use 
of  a  stone  found  in  Napa  ( California)  .^^  The  use  of  the  oval 
stones  (as  fig.  21)  is  in  general  to  be  explained  in  the  same  way. 
A  stone  of  that  kind  is,  for  example,  known  to  have  been  found 
in  Oregon.**''  Another  one  has  been  found  in  California  (sup- 
posedly at  Spanish  Flat).  It  has  been  pictured  by  H.  H.  Ban- 
croft.«^ 

The  stone,  1-8535,  plate  12,  fig.  7,  from  stratum  I,  is  a  sinker, 
judging  from  its  general  shape;  it  is  long  and  oval,  pierced  at 
the  upper  end.  Stones  of  like  form  have  been  found  in  numbers 
in  the  shellmound  at  West  Berkeley.  They  are  probably  sinkers 
like  many  other  stones  found  there.*^  The  upper  eyelet  has  been 
broken  off  in  the  stone  under  consideration.  The  stone  is  slightly 
flattened ;  one  of  the  end  surfaces  is  more  curved  than  the  other 
and  one  of  the  broad  sides  more  elaborately  adorned.  On  one 
side  a  lattice-like  ornamentation  joins  on  to  a  deep  groove.  On 
the  other  side  may  be  seen  several  somewhat  I'uder  lines  like 
liatchings.  The  material  is  that  commonly  used.  Abbott  de- 
scribes an  ornamented  stone  pendent  as  a  gorget  and  another  one 


"-  Cf .  particularly  Abbott,  /.  <■.,  p.  237. 

"-'  I.  c,  p.  203. 

^*  Bulletin,  /.  c,  pi.  Ill,  fig.  22,  and  p.  17. 

*°  Spherical  and  oval  stones  with  a  peripheral  groove  are  implements  of  a 
very  simple  form  and  hence  they  lend  themselves  to  different  uses.  The  old 
copper  fac-simile  of  a  stone  hammer  in  the  Museum  of  Science  and  Art  in 
Philadelphia  shows  conclusively  for  the  region  in  which  it  was  found,  viz., 
Lake  Titicaca,  Pako  Island,  in  Bolivia,  that  similar  stones  were  used  as 
hammers. 

""Ran,  Smiths.  Contrib.,  No.  318,  p.  27,  fig.  110. 

'■'  Native  Eaces,  IV,  p.  705. 

*"  Sinkers  provided  with  a  hole  and  of  like  shape  are  in  use  among  the 
Western  Eskimos.  See  J.  Murdock,  in  IX,  Am.  Rep.  of  Bur.  of  Ethnologv, 
1887  to  1888,  p.  282,  fig.  273.  They  are  found  in  great  numbers  in  the 
United  States. 


56         University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  7 

from  Illinois  with  plastic  ornaments,  as  a  sinker.^^  Compare  this 
with  a  picture  of  a  pendent  stone  from  San  Clemente  Island."" 
The  fact  that  these  stones  are  ornamented  seems  to  make  their 
use  as  sinkers  doubtful  but  not  impossible,  since  fish-hooks  are 
sometimes  much  ornamented.''^ 

Plate  12,  fig.  8,  1-8630,  is  somewhat  sinker-like,  but  in  many 
respects  it  diverges  from  the  general  class.  It  is  made  of  very 
light,  soft  stone,  and  is  an  elongated  oval  in  shape,  with  five 
grooves  parallel  to  one  another  cut  in  about  the  edge.  It  is  elab- 
orately ornamented  with  oblique  hatch-like  lines  on  the  edges 
between  the  grooves.  Hence  it  is  improbable  that  it  was  a  sinker 
— it  cannot,  however,  as  yet  be  assigned  to  another  use. 

7.  Cylindrical  Stones. 

These  differ  from  the  pestles  in  that  their  diameter  is  smaller 
and  that  they  bulge  out  only  slightly  toward  the  middle.  Two 
objects  of  this  kind  came  from  stratum  II,  of  which  1-8609  is 
shown  in  plate  10,  fig.  10.  Both  are  broken  at  their  ends.  They 
are  respectively  4i%6  inches  and  2%  inches  long  and  fifteen- 
sixteenths  inch  and  1  inch  thick.  The  surface  of  the  break  in  the 
shorter  one  was  subsequently  smoothed  off;  perhaps  by  using  it 
as  a  pestle.  Long  cylindrical  stones  of  this  kind  partly  flattened 
on  one  side  and  having  encircling  grooves  at  the  tapering  ends 
have  been  pictured  by  Yates"'-  and  Moorehead"'' ;  these  were  found 
at  Santa  Barbara,  Southern  California.  To  these  may  also  be 
compared  a  stone  pendant  from  Tuolumne  county"*  pictured  by 
Moorehead,  since  the  lack  of  complete  ends  in  the  stones  gives 
considerable  room  for  speculation  as  to  what  the  whole  form 
might  have  been.  On  the  other  hand,  the  tentative  designation 
of  them  by  iMoorehead  and  Yates  as  charms  is  in  no  way  justified. 
The  better  interpretation  of  their  use  would  be  that  of  sinkers 
especially  in  the  case  of  those  provided  at  both  ends  with  grooves 


-'■'  /.  <:.,  i>p.  ;}98  and  234. 
■"  Putnam,  I.  c,  p.  209,  fig.  8]. 
•'Among  the  Thlinkites  conys  Niblack. 

"=/.  c,  i>l.  JV,  ligH.  I'.!',  33,  SI).  Hinitli.s.  Hc'i)()rts,  188G,  I,  partly,  pi.  IV,  figs. 
32,  33,  pi».  296  to  305. 

""l.  v.,  i>.  251,  fig.  38],  NoH.  30  to  33. 
"*  I.  <:,  p.  L'4!>,  fig.  380,  No.  ]. 


1907]  Uhle. — The  EmeryviUe  HhcUmound.  57 

for  attachment,"'  since  stones  coming  from  Peru'*'''  which  are  un- 
deniably sinkers  are  very  like  these  in  many  respects. 

8.  Needle-like  Stone  Implements. 

An  awl,  1-8608,  plate  12,  fi^.  10,  of  stone,  comes  from  stratum 
II.  Plate  12,  fig.  9,  1-8711,  from  stratum  IV,  is  pierced  and  sim- 
ilar to  the  above  though  needle-shaped.**^  From  scratches  ap- 
pearing on  1-8608  we  infer  that  it  was  used  on  rather  hard 
materials. 

9.  Tobacco  I'ipes. 

It  is  remarkable  that  tobacco  pipes  were  found  only  in  stra- 
tum II ;  of  these  we  have  five  perfect  specimens  and  one  frag- 
ment. This  bears  out  the  statement  made  above,  that  stone  uten- 
sils well-made  and  smoothed  off  were  found  only  in  the  upper 
strata  of  the  mound  and  particularly  in  stratum  II.  Since  it  is 
not  probable  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  lower  strata  were  ignor- 
ant of  the  practice  of  smoking,  the  absence  of  pipes  must  be  ex- 
plained in  some  other  way.  On  the  one  hand  it  is  possible  that 
many  of  the  older  pipes  were  made  of  wood.  Powers  has  de- 
scribed a  number  of  wooden  pipes  in  use  among  the  Indians  of 
today.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  possible  that  the  practice  of  smok- 
ing was  not  so  common  in  remoter  periods  and  therefore  it  would 
be  likely  that  fewer  pipes  would  be  found.  There  is  a  third  pos- 
sibility, that  the  large  number  of  pipes  found  in  stratum  II  is 
dependent  on  the  method  of  disposing  of  the  dead,  so  character- 
istic of  this  stratum  and  which  caused  articles  to  be  preserved 
which  would  otherwise  have  disappeared.  The  pipes  described 
below  represent  two  primitive  types,  with  some  insignificant 
variations. 

Plate  12,  figs.  2a  and  (cross  section)  26,  1-8622,  represents 
one  type.  It  is  made  of  a  soft  serpentine-like  material,  gray  on 
the  broken  surface  and  reddish  brown  on  the  outside.  It  is  one 
and  seven-eighths  inches  long  and  incomplete.  There  is  a  broad 
bowl-like  part  and  a  narrow  neck  or  stem,  a  prolongation  of  it. 
The  bowl  is  conical,  one  and  one-eighth  inches  long  and  of  incon- 
siderable width,  being  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  The 
'"boring"  of  the  stem  portion  is  cylindrical  and  eccentric. 

''''  Cf.  V.  A.,  also  flat  specimen,  Smiths.  Eep..  I,  pi.  IV,  fig.  30. 

'^  In  the  Museum  of  the  Univ.  of  Philadelphia. 

*'  Prof.  Putnam,  p.  211,  in  figs.  87,  88,  from  Santa  Barbara. 


58        University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

Plate  12,  figs.  3a  and  3&,  1-8623,  is  the  only  representative  of 
the  second  type.  It  is  made  of  green  serpentine,  and  is  two  and 
one-sixteenth  inches  long,  tapering  into  a  tubular  shape.  The 
hole  in  the  stem  is  as  above,  only  at  the  mouth  end  it  is  conical 
and  shorter.    A  groove  is  cut  into  the  tapering  end. 

Plate  12,  figs,  la  and  (in  section)  1&,  1-8624,  is  made  of  soft 
gray  stone  and  is  very  similar  to  the  preceding  one,  except  that 
it  lacks  the  groove  at  the  mouth  end  and  that  it  is  shorter  and 
thicker. 

Plate  12,  figs.  4a  and  (in  section)  4&,  1-8626,  is  a  small  cyl- 
indrical object  only  nine-sixteenths  of  an  inch  long  and  seventeen- 
thirty-seconds  of  an  inch  wide.  The  seven-sixteenth  inch  conical 
hole  takes  up  nearly  the  whole  width  of  the  stem  so  that  the 
rim  surrounding  it  is  sharp.  The  short  conical  boring  at  the  stem 
end  is  only  five-sixteenths  of  an  inch  wnde.  The  proof  that  this 
too  was  used  as  a  tobacco  pipe  lies  in  the  fact  of  the  disparity 
of  the  two  conical  borings  and  in  that  the  entire  width  of  the 
bowl  end  of  the  pipe  is  used  to  the  best  advantage.  It  seems  to 
have  been  more  of  a  miniature  or  toy  than  an  article  in  common 
use.  However,  the  quantity  of  tobacco  needed  to  fill  any  of  the 
pipes  could  not  have  been  great  since  the  cone-shaped  cavity  in 
the  bowl  is  so  small.  One  is  here  reminded  of  Schumacher's 
entertaining  description  of  the  way  in  which  a  Klamath  tipped 
back  his  head  in  order  to  raise  his  pipe  vertically  that  he  might 
lose  none  of  the  tobacco.  The  stem  ends  of  the  pii)es  are  equally 
imperfect.  They  must  certainly  all  have  been  fastened  to  a  pipe- 
like mouth-piece  similar  to  the  stone  pipes  which  Professor  Put- 
nam has  pictured  and  described  and  which  when  unearthed  still 
had  the  mouth-piece.s  attached  by  means  of  asphalt iiui."^  Some 
Indian  pipes  of  today  ai-e  fastened  to  the  mouth-pieces  by  means 
f>f  ligatures,"^  as  was  evidently  the  case  with  pipe  shown  in  plate 
12,  fig.  3,  and  with  another  one  of  the  collection  (1-8625)  the  stem 
of  which  had  been  broken.  A  rude  notch  was  cut  into  the  outside 
(if  Ihc  .stem  to  facilitate  the  rebinding  and  to  give  it  a  better  hold. 
At  any  i-ate,  the  means  of  attaching  the  month-piece  (comp.  par- 
ticnlarly  figs.  1  and  4)  was  as  iiia(l('(|uat('  as  was  the  receptacle 

'"/.  c,  pi.  JX. 

*"  Powers,  /.  c,  fig.  43,  oj))).  ji.  4'J(5. 


1907]  Uhle. — T1ie  Emeryville  ShellmouiKl.  r;9 

for  the  tobacco  at  the  front  end.  Short  reed-like  tobacco-pipes 
are  particularly  characteristic  of  the  middle  portion  of  California. 
A  stone  tobacco  pipe  coming?  from  a  Khelliiioimd  in  Visitaeion 
Valley  south  of  San  Francisco,  pictured  by  II.  H.  Bancroft,'"" 
is  very  similar  to  plate  12,  f^^.  8.  The  fourth  one  in  the  plate, 
pictured  by  Powers,  is  also  analoj^ous.  Short  pipes  are  of  course 
also  found  in  southern  California,'^'  but  the  longer  reed-like  va- 
riety is  more  usual.  A  tobacco  pipe  pictured  by  Manpiis  de 
Nadaillac  and  coming  from  the  cliff  dwellers'"-'  is  somewhat  sim- 
ilar to  plate  12,  fig.  2,  but  here  the  stem  was  so  slight  that  there 
was  no  need  of  a  special  mouth-piece.  The  short  pipes  as  well  as 
the  long  ones  of  southern  California'"^  are  also  found  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  United  States.  Several  clay  pipes  from  New 
Jersey"'*  may  be  compared  to  them;  also  two  objects  merely 
classified  as  "pipes,"  but  most  probably  tobacco  pipes,  from 
West  Virginia'"'"'  and  Tennessee.'"*^ 

10.  Various  Polished  Stone. 

In  the  mound  were  found  different  kinds  of  stones, — some 
isolated  specimens  showing  good  workmanship  but  as  yet  un- 
classified, and  others,  of  the  common  kinds  which  were,  of  course, 
in  use  at  the  same  time  with  the  more  perfect  implements. 

Those  of  the  first  kind  were  all  found  in  stratum  II.  One  of 
these  is  1-8671,  plate  12,  figs.  12a  and  (front  view)  \2h.  It  is 
made  of  soft  serpentine.  Its  shape  is  that  of  a  flat  cylinder  of 
not  entirely  uniform  height,  with  flat  or  almost  imperceptibly 
curved  ends ;  there  is  a  perforation  which  extends  inward  in  the 
form  of  a  cone  from  both  ends.'"^  In  the  gentle  curving-out  of 
its  peripheral  surface  it  is  particularly  like  ear-pegs.  It  is 
worthy  of  note  that  Moorehead  shows  two  objects  from  the  neigh- 


""  I.  c,  IV,  p.  711. 

""'  Comp,  two  of  Putnam 's  views  in  pi.  VIII. 

'"^  I.  c,  p.  256,  fig.  112.  The  one  drawn  by  Peet,  /.  c,  I,  j).  282,  shows  the 
same  object. 

'"-'  Cf .  Abbott,  /.  c,  p.  330,  fig.  322,  from  Massachusetts. 

""  Abbott,  I.  c,  pp.  336  and  340. 

'"=  Fewkes,  p.  128,  fig.  155. 

"*  Eau,  Smiths.  Contrib.,  /.  <■.,  p.  44,  fig.  176. 

'"  As  regards  its  form  it  may  be  compared  to  the  objects  shown  by  Moore- 
head, I.  c,  p.  279,  fig.  418,  Nos.  2  (from  Napa  county)  and  7,  froru  North 
and  Central  California. 


60         University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

borhood  of  Stockton  analogous  to  it  in  many  respects  and  desig- 
nated by  him  as  lip-pegs,^*^'^  and  that  barbed,  bone  spear-heads 
like  those  used  on  the  northwest  coast  were  found  in  the  vicinity 
of  Stoclvton.  according:  to  Mr.  Meredith,  in  close  proximity  to  a 
lip-peg'""  of  the  kind  used  on  the  northwest  coast.  The  possi- 
bility, therefore,  of  an  ethnological  connection  between  the  an- 
cient inhabitants  of  the  vicinity  of  the  central  California  water 
basins  and  those  of  the  north  cannot  well  be  denied. 

The  small  object,  1-8628,  plate  12,  fig.  13,  seems  similar  in 
size  and  form  to  the  object  shown  in  plate  12,  fig.  12.  This  sim- 
ilarity is  only  a  superficial  one,  aside  from  the  difference  in  the 
material  of  which  it  is  made, — burnt  clay,  rare  in  California  and 
not  carved  but  modeled;  it  is  further  different  in  the  fact  that 
its  cross  section  is  oval  and  that  its  slightly  arched  end  is  covered 
with  marks  of  blows,  and  that  the  perforation  is  absent. 

Plate  12,  fig.  6,  1-8631,  is  of  quartz-colored  material,  flat  and 
tongue-shaped.  It  is  broken  off  at  the  broad  end,  the  lower  sur- 
face is  flat,  the  upper  slightly  arched,  and  the  edge  blunt.  Judg- 
ing from  its  form  and  the  brittle  nature  of  the  material  of  which 
it  is  made,  it  must  have  been  an  ornament. 

Plate  12,  fig.  5,  1-8850,  of  chalcedony,  looks  like  a  neckless 
head  of  a  bird  resting  on  a  bust-like  body;  the  bill  is  linear;  the 
eye  is  represented  by  a  deep  hollow.  That  this  object  is  not  an 
artifact  is  the  conclusion  suggested  by  the  presence  of  a  crust 
over  the  entire  object  from  beak  to  eye,  formed  by  its  weathering. 
In  relation  to  other  products  of  human  workmanship,  such  an 
object  has  worth  only  in  so  far  as  its  shape  was  of  undoubted 
significance  to  the  inhabitants,  and  carefully  preserved  for  that 
reason. 

Besides  this,  various  flat,  smooth  stones  of  chert  and  agate 
were  found,  one  of  which,  1-8849,  from  stratum  VII,  is  shown  in 
fig.  23.  It  is  made  of  fine  grained  sand-stone,  has  but  one  smooth 
side  and  was  used  as  a  whet-stone.  A  thin  oblong  sheet  of  mica- 
slate  was  uneaclhcd.  but  it  must  have  been  used  only  as  an  orna- 
ment. 


"•^l.  c,  I).  285,  fi^'.  42(),  NoH.  ?,  and  f). 

'""The  use  of  lip-jiegs  lias  never  been  observed  in  that  region  between 
Mexico  and  the  northwest  coast  of  North  America.  W.  H.  Dall,  Pvvblic  of 
the  Bur.  of  Ethnology,  1881-82,  III,  p.  86. 


1907] 


Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmounfl. 


61 


Fig.  24  (1-8721  from  stratum  V)  illustrates  one  of  two  anal- 
ogous objects  from  the  upper  strata  of  the  mound.  It  is  a  com- 
mon stone  with  about  seven  groove-like  lines  of  varying  breadth 
and  depth  on  the  sides.  Two  of  them  form  an  angle  which 
though  purely  accidental  might  seem  to  be  ornamental.  The 
grooves  come  probably  from  its  use  as  a  whet-stone  for  bone  awls, 
etc.  To  this  purpose  the  hard,  sandy  substance  easily  lent  itself. 
Long  bars  could  not  have  been  fixed  to  this  stone,  since  for  that 
purpose  the  grooves  are  neither  broad  nor  straight  enough. 
Several  drawings  by  Rau^^**  and  by  Moorehead"'  may  here  be 
compared. 


24 

Fig.  23.      X  %.     Fig.  24.     X  V2.     Stones,  probably  used  for  whetting. 


b.  Chipped  Stones. 

A  great  number  of  these  were  fovind  in  the  mound.  As  re- 
gards their  shape  they  fall  into  two  classes,  either  finished  imple- 
ments or  chips  from  the  workshop.  As  regards  the  material  of 
which  they  are  made,  they  also  fall  into  two  large  separate  classes  : 
those  of  the  usual,  light  stone  natural  to  the  place  such  as  flint, 
chert  (in  green  or  brown  variety),  horn-stone,  jasper,  etc.,  and 
those  of  obsidian  (volcanic  glass),  which  was  not  to  be  had  in 
the  immediate  locality,  although  it  was  the  preferred  material. 
The  classification  according  to  material  is  the  more  important. 
There  were  found  about  twenty-five  obsidian  objects  (among 
them  a  very  few  rough  pieces  or  waste  bits  from  the  work-shop, 
the  latter  all  small)  and  about  140  hewn  stones  of  other  kinds  of 
material.     Most  of  these  were  \vaste  from  the  work-shop,  all  of 


"» Smiths.  Contrib.,  I.  c,  p.  304. 
'"  I.  c,  p.  338,  fig.  493. 


62        Vniversity  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

the  size  of  implements,  but  relatively  few  (about  one-fourth) 
complete  tools. 

The  obsidian  implements  came  from  the  1st  to  the  IXth  strata, 
but  most  of  them  were  found  in  the  upper  layers.  Nearly  three- 
fourths  of  them  were  taken  from  the  three  upper  strata.  In 
stratum  II  alone  there  were  ten  implements  and  one  piece  of 
obsidian  in  the  rough.  It  can  certainly  be  inferred  that  the  great 
quantity  of  obsidian  tools  from  II  Avas  connected  with  the  custom 
of  burning  the  dead  and  of  casting  their  belongings  into  the 
flames.  In  addition,  the  great  number  found  here  shows  a 
broader  and  more  universal  use  of  obsidian  in  the  making  of 
implements. 

They  are  all  of  very  simple  form,  such  as  arrow-  and  spear- 
heads,"- spear-like  points  and  a  flat  knife-like  blade,  made  from 
the  rough  stone  by  polishing  off  bits"^  (see  plate  10,  figs.  11  to 
16).  Arrow-heads  of  obsidian  were  found  only  in  stratum  II, 
comp.  1-8676,  plate  10,  fig.  13,  the  blade-like  knife.  1-8633,  fig. 
11,  and  the  spear-like  knife  end,  1-8634,  fig.  16,  which  were 
found  there.  1-8926  from  stratum  VIII,  fig.  15,  may  have  been 
either  a  spear-head  or  a  knife.  Fragment  1-8536  from  stratum  I. 
fig.  12.  by  virtue  of  its  two  unevenly  arched  surfaces,  and  1-8883, 
fig.  14  of  the  plate,  from  stratum  VIII  (found  nineteen  feet 
down  in  the  tunnel  between  parts  8  and  9  of  the  shaft  frame)  on 
account  of  its  long  peg-like  lower  end,  may  be  parts  of  knife-like 
implements.  They  were  fastened  on  rod-like  shafts  similar  to 
the  fine-handled  knives  of  southern  California  shown  by  Professor 
Putnam  and  which  are  in  an  excellent  state  of  preservation. 

Prom  a  technical  standpoint,  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  iniple- 
iiients  of  such  perfect  workmanship  as  figs.  12"*  and  13  were  not 
found  among  the  obsidian  implements  of  the  lower  strata  of  the 
iiinuiid.  .\  proportional  decrease  in  obsidian  implements  of  gcvxi 
w'oi-kmanship  ca7i  be  noted  as  one  approaches  the  lowest  strata. 


"'-'  For  the  nso  of  HpciirH  in  California  comp.  Powers,  /.  <•..  |i|i.  l'21,  .'^21. 
etc. 

'"  No  flccorati%'e  or  fantastic  shapes  were  found  among  the  obsidian  ob- 
jects as  olaowhore  in  central  California.  Moorehead  hris  shown  sonio  of  these 
in  /.  c,  p.  2(52.  A  curved  hook-like  object  was  found  in  llu'  sliellmound  at 
Ellis  Landing. 

"*  Moorehead,  /.  r.,  p.  ^G.'j. 


1907]  Ultle. — The  EmerijvUle  Shellnwund.  63 

In  northei-n  California  obsidian  is  found  near  Mt.  Shasta,  on 
the  north  side  of  Mt.  St.  Helena  and  in  i)ieces  to  the  size  of  an 
ostrich  egg  in  Napa  Valley.""  It  is  a  product  of  volcanic  erup- 
tions, phenomena  which  were  of  frequent  occurrence  during  the 
tertiary  period.  The  material  of  which  the  implements  found 
about  the  bay  in  all  the  shell  mounds  were  made  must  have  come 
from  one  of  the  above-named  sources  through  trading.  The  small 
number  of  such  implements  found  in  the  shellmounds  is  prob- 
ably the  result  of  the  comparative  rarity  of  the  obsidian  in  this 
locality  and  the  resulting  care  with  which  it  was  hoarded. 

It  is  to  be  inferred  that  at  no  period  was  obsidian  exclusively 
the  material  used  for  chipped  stone  implements,  since  workshop 
waste  composed  of  materials  found  in  the  neighborhood  has  been 
discovered  up  to  stratum  II.  Since,  however,  waste  and  no  fin- 
ished implements  of  local  materials  have  been  found  above  stra- 
tum V,  the  instances  of  the  use  of  such  must  have  been  relatively 
isolated  in  the  upper  strata.  Toward  the  lower  strata,  from  about 
the  Vllth  but  practically  from  the  Vlllth  on,  there  is  a  great 
increase  in  workshop  waste.  Stratum  V  is  the  uppermost  one  out 
of  which  one  or  two  single  objects  (among  them  1-8756.  plate  6, 
fig.  21)  may  be  considered  finished  implements.  Of  the  thirty- 
nine  implement-like  objects  obtained  in  excavating,  only  one  is 
of  unusual  workmanship,  an  arrow-head  of  chert,  1-8815,  plate 
6,  fig.  19,  which  comes  from  stratum  VII,  at  the  lowest  part  of 
cut  C.  The  extraordinary  accumulation  of  objects  of  chipped 
stone  which  can  be  termed  implements  begins  with  stratum  VIII 
and  continues  down  to  the  lowest  stratum  X.  A  considerable 
number  of  these  is  shown  in  plate  6.  It  is,  however,  remarkable 
that  of  these  not  one  shows  in  its  workmanship  complete  mastery 
in  the  handling  of  the  material.  The  implement  which,  though 
still  crude,  shows  the  next  best  workmanship  is  the  leaf-like  point 
of  crystalline  rock,  1-8929,  plate  6,  fig.  20.  from  stratum  VIII, 
found  at  the  innermost  end  of  the  gallery.^^*'  All  of  the  remain- 
ing implement-like  objects  of  chipped  stone  bear  the  marks  of 
crudity  as  do  all  of  those  that  come  from  strata  IX  and  X.    It  is 


"=  Cf .  Ran,  Smiths.  Eep.,  1874,  p.  358. 

"^  It  is  similar  iu  form  to  a  point  shown  by  Abbott,  /.  c,  p.  92,  fig.  67, 
found  in  New  Jersey,  which  he  called  a  knife  (p.  90). 


64        University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

very  noticeable  that  because  of  this  crudity  in  most  of  them,  the 
line  between  implement  and  waste  is  very  vagne.  It  was  there- 
fore difficult  to  decide  in  the  case  of  many  objects  whether  they 
were  to  be  regarded  as  tools  at  all.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  prob- 
able that  a  number  of  pieces  included  under  rubbish  may  have 
really  served  as  tools.^" 

Resulting  from  the  discovery  of  obsidian,  plate  10,  fig.  15, 
chipped  stones  of  good  workmanship  were  found  as  far  down  as 
the  upper  part  of  stratum  VIII.  It  is  extremely  doubtful 
Avhether  they  appeared  at  all  in  the  strata  below  this.  The  ob- 
jects made  of  material  fi-om  the  vicinity  of  the  mound  were  cer- 
tainly made  during  its  settlement.  A  characteristic  mark  of  the 
uniform  crudity  of  all  of  these  tools  made  of  local  materials  and 
found  in  the  lower  strata  is  that  they  all  are  worked  from  but 
one  side  and  that  the  elaboration  of  that  side  is  accomplished  by 
but  a  very  few  strokes.  The  onl^y  exception  to  this  is  the  point, 
from  stratum  VII,  pi.  6,  tig.  19,  which  as  to  technique  belongs  in 
another  x)lace.  PI.  6,  fig.  18,  1-9012,  shows  a  ridge-like  elevation 
on  its  lower  side,  thus  forming  an  unimportant  and  superficial 
exception.  The  point,  1-8929,  pi.  6,  fig.  20,  is  also  entirely  even 
on  its  under  side.  In  this  they  have  a  peculiarity  characteristic 
of  the  well-known  "turtle-backs."'^^  This  latter  kind  which  in 
the  eastern  states  of  the  United  States  has  been  found  typical 
of  the  implements  of  the  palaeolithic  age  is  to  be  recognized  in 
two  objects  in  our  collection,  1-9095,  of  green  chert,  pi.  6,  fig.  2, 
from  stratum  X,  and  1-9007  of  a  crystalline  substance,  pi.  6, 
fig.  1,  from  stratum  IX.  The  first  of  these  is  without  a  doubt  an 
implement,  and  the  second  is  pi'obably  one.  The  palaeolithic 
turtle-backs  of  the  East  are  unmistakably  to  he  differentiated 
from  the  two  objects  under  question  in  the  material  of  which 
they  are  composed,  which  is  argillite.  In  any  case,  however,  flic 
presence  of  these  two  objects  proves  that  primordial  species  of 
stone  implements  existed  into  the  neolithic  period  (for  the  mound 
rests  on  ;illnvial  soil)  and  they  may  give  ground  for  the  estab- 

'"  (Jonip.  ii  similar  remark  in  Abbott,  /.  c,  \).  93,  coiiccniinfr  the  doubt  t'lil 
nature  of  cliipjtcd  stones  as  imj)]cnients;  from  the  stones  in  their  vicinity 
they  were  conjectured  to  be  implements. 

""Cf.  Abbott,  /.  c,  pp.  492  iY.,  and  tiic  same,  HcjK.rt  i>r  fhc  I'calx.dy  Mu- 
seum, 1876  to  1879,  II,  p.  33  ff. 


1907]  Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmoutul.  65 

lishing  of  the  period  fi-orn  which  sneh  implements  date,  which  is 
even  farther  back  than  that.  The  conical  piece  of  jasper  brought 
to  a  point  by  chipping,  1-8851,  pi.  6,  fig.  3,  from  stratum  Vila, 
illustrates  how  implements  were  made  by  chipping  from  larger 
pieces  of  stone,  and  may  even  be  itself  a  tool.  It  cannot  be  stated 
indisputably  that  the  greater  number  of  the  common  forms  of 
chipped  stones  shown  on  pi.  6  were  obsolete  among  the  latter 
inhabitants  of  the  mound.  But  it  must  be  noted  that  the  greater 
number  and  the  most  characteristic  of  them  do  not  appear  in  the 
upper  strata.  We  may  surmise  that  as  far  as  they  did  occur 
among  the  founders  of  the  upper  strata  they  had  a  better  form. 
In  addition  to  the  pointed  (pi.  6,  figs.  19  to  20)  and  knife-like 
implements  (fig.  21)  the  following  important  types  are  repre- 
sented. 

1.  Long  scrapers  sharpened  on  one  side,  1-9012,  fig.  18,  from 
stratum  IX,  and  1-9093,  fig.  17,  from  stratum  X. 

2.  Chisel-like  tools  terminating  in  front  in  a  straight  sharp 
edge.  1-8857,  fig.  14,  from  stratum  Vila,  and  1-9080.  fig.  15, 
from  stratum  X. 

3.  Scrapers,  more  or  less  rounded  off  or  oval,  1-9023,  fig.  8, 
from  stratum  IX,  1-9053,  fig.  9,  from  stratum  IX,  1-9085,  fig. 
10,  from  stratum  X."® 

In  a  like  manner  the  following  irregularly  shaped  objects 
might  have  been  used  as  scrapers. 
1-9043,  fig.  7,  from  stratum  IX. 
1-8966,  fig.  11,  from  stratum  VIII  or  IX. 
1-9012,  fig.  12,  from  stratum  IX. 
1-9040,  fig.  13,  from  stratum  IX.'-'' 

4.  Oval  stones  with  high  "turtle-back"  backs  with  the  encir- 
cling edges  sharpened,  probably  too  large  for  use  as  the  usual 
scrapers : 

1-9007,  fig.  1,  and  1-9095,  fig.  2  . 

5.  Drills  or  awl-like,  pointed  stones,  with  a  more  or  less  thick 
base. 


"'  A  hide-scraper  fastened  into  a  wooden  shaft  from  the  Thuswap  Indians 
in  British  Cohimbia  in  the  Jessup  collection  shown  hv  Moorehead,  /.  c,  p. 
255,  fig.  388. 

^-°  Pictures  of  scrapers,  see  Abbott,  /.  c,  pp.  li'  to  138. 


66        University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

1-8961,  fig.  6,  from  stratum  VIII  or  IX. 

1-9005,  fig.  5,  from  stratum  IX. 

1-9031,  fig.  4,  from  stratum  IX. 

Instruments  like  the  last  have  been  found  in  many  parts  of 
the  United  States.^-^  Several  of  these  bear  a  great  resemblance 
to  those  here  shown,  one  such  is  pictured  by  Rau^-^  from  Santa 
Cruz  Island,  and  one  of  like  origin  by  Putnam,^-^  one  from  Santa 
Rosa  Island.'-*  Traces  of  asphaltum  found  on  the  broad  base  of 
many  similar  ones  would  point  to  the  fact  of  their  once  having 
been  fastened  to  a  shaft.'-^ 

B.  Utensils  of  bone,  horn,  and  the  teeth  of  animals. 

Implements  of  Bone. 

Artifacts  of  animal  derivation  appear  in  great  numbers  and 
in  a  great  variety  of  form  among  the  objects  recovered  in  exca- 
vating. This  diversity  in  form  is  of  course  partly  the  result  of 
the  different  kinds  of  bone  used  in  their  manufacture,  partly  of 
their  varied  manipulation,  and  partly  of  the  uses  to  which  they 
were  put.  There  are  all  grades  of  elaboration  from  the  most 
common  splinter  of  bone  to  the  tool  whose  shape  is  almost  entirely 
different  from  that  of  the  bone  employed.  All  the  objects  found, 
however,  may  be  reduced  to  the  principal  types  of  bone  instru- 
ments which  have  been  found  in  the  United  States  under  the  most 
varying  circumstances.  In  addition  to  awls,  needles  and  paper- 
cutter-like  knives  of  bone,  there  are  instruments  of  horn  used 
principally  for  chiseling  and  instruments  of  a  secondary  nature. 
They  were  the  usual  tools  used  in  making  clothes,'-"^  in  weaving 
baskets,'"'  etc.,  not  to  mention  several  subordinate  uses  to  which 
they  were  put. 

1.  Awl-like  tools. 

This  is  a  large  class  containing  more  than  100  objects  having 


'=' (;omp.  MooioIk'ikI,  /.  c,  \)\).  140,  170,  ;{08;  Abbott,  /.  c,  Chap.  VII,  pp. 
97  to  119. 

■='-  Smiths.  Contrib.,  /.  c,  j..  90,  fig.  318. 

^^  F.  W.  Putnam,  /.  <•.,  p.  68,  fig.  1.5. 

'-■*  Mooreheail,  I.  c,  p.  340,  fig.  372,  fig.  1. 

'"Eau,  /.  c,  p.  91,  after  P.  Schumacher. 

'^' Sclioolcraft  called  them  "  moccasin-needlefi.  " 

'"The  broom-binderH  of   Mark  Brandenburg  to  tlii«  day  use  J)one  awls, 
see  Ranke,  /.  r.,  II,  p.  .509. 


1907)  I'hJc.—  Tlw  Enirrf/viile  SlieU mound.  67 

various  secondaiy  foniis  and  it,  is  the  most  conspicuous  class  of 
bone  instruments.    They  niay  he  classified  as  follows: 

a.  Common  awls  with  a  ^^ood  point. 

These  comprise  more  than  100  perfect  and  fraft'mentary  speci- 
mens. They  were  scattered  through  almost  all  the  strata  in  the 
following  way : 

Stratum  I — 8  objects. 
Stratum  II — 61  objects. 
Stratum  III — 8  objects. 
Stratum  IV — 11  objects. 
Stratum  V — 3  objects. 

Stratum  VI objects. 

Stratum  VII-VIII— 5  objects. 
Stratum  IX — 5  objects. 
Stratum  X — 4  objects. 

The  remarkable  preponderance  in  stratum  II  is  probably 
again  the  re.sult  of  the  practice  of  cremation  of  bodies. 

When  one  remembers  that  awls  were  the  principal  tools  used 
in  making  baskets  and  that  baskets  took  the  place  of  pottery  in 
the  household  of  the  California  Indians,  one  will  not  wonder  at 
their  great  number. 

Their  shapes  vary.  Four  of  them  are  shown  in  plate  9,  figs. 
1  to  4.  Fig.  1,  from  stratum  I,  gives  the  type  by  far  the  most 
common  in  the  3  or  4  upper  strata :  the  other  three,  fig.  2,  1-8686, 
from  stratum  IV.  fig.  3,  1-8897,  from  VIII,  fig.  4,  1-8972,  from 
IX,  give  examples  of  the  many  secondary  forms  and  illustrate 
the  diversity  of  form  occurring  in  the  lower  strata.  Although 
fig.  4,  as  regards  its  shape,  reminds  us  of  the  type  of  the  tool  of 
the  upper  strata  (cf.  fig.  1),  not  a  single  implement  was  found 
in  the  lower  strata  that  was  the  exact  counterpart  of  those  in  the 
upper.  ^Manifestly  it  was  the  inhabitants  of  the  upper  strata  who 
developed  and  established  the  latter  form.  Its  distinctive  feature 
is  this,  that  only  one  side  of  the  bone  (mostly  tibia  of  deer)  is 
used,  that  a  foot-like  portion  of  the  joint  is  left,  and  that  the  awl 
is  sharpened  and  well  finished  oiT  on  all  sides,  even  to  the  inner 
channel.  Usually  there  is  a  slight  bulging  out  in  the  middle  of 
the  tool  which  increases  its  strength. 

The  characteristic  feature  of  pi.  9,  fig.  2,  is  that  only  the  shaft 
of  the  bone  is  open,  the  joint  being  left  intact.     In  pi.  9,  figs.  3 


68 


University  of  Calif ornia  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 


and  4.  the  foot-like  supports  are  missinp:;  whether  orioinally  they 
were  there  or  not  is  a  question.  They  seem  to  have  been  missing 
from  the  very  beginning,  at  least  the  one  shown  in  pi.  9.  fig.  3. 
The  whole  shape  of  the  instrument  is  crude.  In  several  awl-like 
implements  of  the  lower  strata,  as  in  text-fig.  25,  1-8797,  from 
stratum  VII,  the  canal  in  the  bone  is  not  even  opened,  but  kept 
intact  through  the  whole  instrument.^-^ 
b.  Blunt  awl-like  implements. 


25 


Fig.  25.     X  V2-     -^   bone,   probably   used   for 
Bone  implement  of  unknown  use. 


an   awl.     Fig.   26.      X  ^. 


"™  Numbers  of  aMl-Jike  bone  implements  of  this  kind  coming  from  tlic 
United  States  have  been  depicted.  For  those  from  California,  see  H.  H. 
Bancroft,  Native  Races,  IV,  p.  711,  No.  1  (the  other  so-called  tool,  No.  2,  is 
a  natural  bono  without  value  as  a  tool);  Moorehead,  I.  c,  p.  271,  fig.  410; 
F.  W.  Putnam,  Kep.  of  U.  S.  Geogr.  Survey,  I.  c,  pi.  XI,  figs.  13  to  1.5  and 
19;  p.  227,  fig.  104;  Nadaillac,  I.  c,  p.  49,  fig.  15  (not  very  useful);  from 
the  southern  states,  for  instance,  Ch.  C.  Jones,  Antiquities  of  tlie  Southern 
Indians,  187.'5,  f)I.  XVI,  fig.  1;  Moorehead,  I.  c,  p.  142;  Clias.  Rau.  Smiths. 
(^'ontrib.,  No.  287,  ]>.  64,  fig.  238  ( Kentucd^y,  Tennessee)  ;  from  shellmounds 
of  New  England;  Wyman,  Am.  Naturalist,  1,  pi.  14,  fig.  5,  and  j)l.  15,  fig.  9 
(both  repeated  in  Abbott,  /.  c,  ]>.  213,  figs.  199  and  202),  from  New  York; 
Schoolcraft  Archives  of  Aborig.  Knowledge,  1860,  II,  pi.  49,  fig.  3,  with  \). 
90,  from  the  Aleutian  Islands,  Chas.  Kan,  /.  r.,  fig.  236. 


1907] 


Uhle. — The  Emeryville  SltellmouitfL 


69 


The  absence  of  points  indicates  a  soniewliat  dill'ci'cnt  use  to 
which  such  instruments  were  put.  In  addition  to  this  feature 
there  is  very  frequently  a  peculiar  curve  wliich,  while  it  is  the 
natural  shape  of  the  bone,  must  have  been  chosen  purposely, — for 
instance,  1-8692,  pi.  9,  fig.  5,  from  IV,  and  1-8829,  text-fig.  26, 
from  stratum  Vila.  The  bone  of  front  leg  of  a  stag  is  the  orig- 
inal form  of  the  partly  awl-shaped  partly  paper-cutter-like  imple- 
ment, 1-8579,  text-fig.  27,  from  stratum  II.  A  similar  one  from 
the  southern  part  of  the  United  States  has  been  observed.'-" 


29 


Figs.  27  and  28.  X  Vj.  Boues  probably  used  as  awls.  Fig.  29.  X  V^. 
Bone  of  ' '  paper-cutter ' '  type. 

c.  Flat  Awl-like  Implements. 

These  represent  a  large  and  important  class  of  implements 
which  occur  in  numbers  in  several  of  the  lower  strata  (V  and 
IX),  although  really  only  in  fragments;  cf.  1-8985,  pi.  9,  fig.  6, 
from  stratum  V.  They  are  curved  sideways,  and  well-pointed  in 
spite  of  their  otherwise  flat  character.  The  interior  reticulate 
structure  of  the  natural  bone  is  retained  on  one  side  of  tlie 
implement. 


'-^  Moorehead,  /.  c,  p.  142;  comp.  also  Ch.  Eau,  Smiths.  Coutrib.,  No.  287, 
XXII,  p.  64,  fig.  237  (from  Kentucky). 


70        University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

Fig.  28,  1-8541,  from  stratum  II,  has  a  peculiar  shape;  it  is 
broad,  in  the  form  of  a  channel  and  pointed.  One  of  the  edges  of 
the  channel  seems  to  be  worn  smooth  through  usage.  The  back 
end  is  broken  off. 

2.  Needle-like  Implements. 

They  differ  from  the  awl-like  implements  in  that  they  are 
intended  not  only  to  pierce  an  article  but  also  to  pass  through  it. 
In  this  class  there  are  also  secondary  shapes. 

a.  Straight  needles  without  perforation. 

1-8895,  pi.  9,  fig.  8,  found  twent.y-seven  feet  beneath  the  sur- 
face in  stratum  VIII,  may  be  taken  as  the  prevailing  type.  The 
needle  is  a  thin,  pointed  instrument,  oval  in  cross  section,  blunt 
at  the  back  end,  well  finished  throughout.  To  this  class  also  be- 
longs a  number  of  fragments  found  in  different  strata  up  to  the 
Vlllth. 

b.  Curved  needles. 

1-8901,  pi.  9,  fig.  9,  from  stratum  VIII,  represents  this  type. 
The  needle  is  very  slender  and  thin  and  of  good  workmanship. 
Unfortunately  it  is  broken  off  at  the  smoth  posterior  end.^^° 

e.  Needles  Avith  "eyes." 

We  have  also  only  one  specimen  of  this  type,  1-8735,  pi.  9, 
fig.  10,  from  stratum  V.  It  is  straight,  round  in  cross  section  and 
tapering  at  the  perforated  end.^^^  The  bluntness  of  the  point 
must  be  the  result  of  use. 

d.  Long  crooked  needles, 

1-8831,  pi.  9,  fig.  7,  a  well  preserved  and  seemingly  perfect 
specimen,  was  found  in  stratum  Vila,  in  the  tunnel,  from  eleven 
to  fourteen  feet  below  the  surface.  It  consists  of  a  long,  thin  rib 
pointed  at  the  stronger  end,  thereby  exposing  the  canal  within. ^•'- 

'"*  Comp.  the  objects  found  in  a  shellmound  in  New  England,  Am.  Nat- 
uralist, I;  pi.  15,  fig.  17;  it,  however,  is  broader. 

'•"  A  similar  needle  from  a  mound  in  Oliio  has  been  shown  by  C.  L.  Metz 
and  by  F.  W.  Putnam,  Rej).  of  the  I'eabody  iMuseum,  1880  to  1886,  III,  p. 
4.52.  The  Point  Barrow  Kskinios  use  a  similar  one  (J.  Mur(h)ek,  IXtli  Ann. 
Rep.  of  the  Bur.  of  Ethnology,  1887-88,  p.  318,  fig.  325). 

'"  It  reminds  one  somewhat  (in  that  it  is  curved  and  pointed)  of  an  in- 
Htrumont  designated,  and  that  manifestly  wrongly,  by  Moorehead  as  a  hair- 
])in  (see  Moorehead,  /.  (•.,  p.  271,  fig.  410,  under  No.  4).  .Jeanne  Cjirr  tells 
of  neerlles  made  usually  of  ihc  strong  wing  bones  of  the  li;iwk,  used  to  kee]> 
the  stranils  in  place  when  the  basket-weaver  left  his  work.  Tlu^se  were 
handed  <lowti  from  nu)ther  to  daughter  generation  after  generation  and  re- 
garded ;is  valuable  possessions.     (The  Californian,  1892,  No.  5,  p.  603.) 


1907]  Vhle. — Tlie  Emernxnlle  Shellmound.  71 

ArnoiiK  those  found  there  is  also  a  needle  of  fish  bone  and  like- 
wise one  made  from  the  spine  of  a  stingray. 

3.  Rough  awl-like  implements  of  the  lower  strata. 

We  have  chosen  to  discuss  a  number  of  implements  from  the 
lower  strata  under  this  separate  head.  Although  some  of  these 
were  probably  used  as  awls,  yet  along  with  others  with  which 
they  form  a  small  group  they  cannot  easily  be  considered  with 
the  other  implements  of  this  class.  Plate  7,  which  represents 
typical  bone  implements  of  the  lower  layers,  shows  the  greater 
number  of  these  peculiar  shapes  in  figs.  1  to  10.  Altogether  about 
fourteen  of  these  awl-like  implements  were  found  in  stratum 
VIII,  five  in  stratum  IX  and  four  in  stratum  X.  When  one  con- 
siders that  from  layers  IX  and  X,  only  small  sections  were  ex- 
plored, the  relative  number  of  these  implements  must  excite  some 
interest.  The  awl-like  and  needle-like  objects  of  pi.  9,  although 
but  little  worked,  are  yet  characterized  by  a  definite  fundamental 
form,  different  from  that  shown  in  the  objects  represented  in 
pi.  7,  figs.  1  to  lO.^^"*  They  represent  simply  bone  splinters  of 
the  most  varied  forms  such  as  would  be  made  by  accident.  To 
be  sure,  there  were  isolated  bone  splinters  in  other  places  in  the 
excavation,  probably  used  as  implements,  as  would  naturally 
occur  in  a  shellmound.  In  all  of  these  latter  cases,  however,  the 
character  of  the  objects  was,  owing  to  the  form  of  the  bones  and 
to  the  accidental  or  typical  intention  of  their  use,  completely 
different.  The  objects  shown  in  figs.  1  to  10  of  this  plate  are 
made  of  fragments  of  somewhat  thick  long  bones.  All  of  them 
have  been  much  used  and  the  upper  ends  are  strongly  rounded 
and  worn.  Their  use  was  evidently  intentional  both  Avith  refer- 
ence to  their  more  general  and  their  typical  uses.  They  do  not 
belong  to  a  peculiar  type  of  implements  because  it  is  evident 
from  their  form  that  they  were  used  for  many  purposes. 

Some,  as  figs.  6,  7.  and  8,  1-8919,  1-8918  (VIII),  1-8979 
(IX),  have  an  awl-like  pointed  form  and  may  accordingly  have 
been  used  as  such  an  implement.  Others,  as  figs.  1.  3,  4,  and  10, 
1-8983  (VIII),  1-9069  (X),  1-9068  (X),  1-9072  (X),  although 
in  general  awl-like,  are  blunter  and  can  hardly  have  been  put  to 


'■'  The  principal  smaller  forms  figured  from  southern  California  by  Put- 
nam, /.  c.  PI.  IX,  figs.  16-17. 


72         Vidversity  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

the  same  use  as  these  forms  just  mentioned.  Objects  like  1-89S0, 
pi.  7,  %.  5 ;  1-8996,  pi.  7,  %.  9,  and  possibly  also  1-8871,  pi.  7, 
fig.  2,  have  such  broad  and  blunt  ends  that  for  them  character- 
ization as  "aAvl-like"  would  be  entirely  unsuitable  and  their  use 
must  be  explained  in  some  other  way.  The  tie  that  holds  them 
together  is,  therefore,  in  no  way  that  of  similar  use  but  rather  of 
analogous  origin.  They  comprise  a  large  number  of  implements 
having  different  uses.  What  is  common  to  them  is  the  similarity 
of  the  way  in  which  they  were  obtained.  Their  use  was  deter- 
mined by  the  chance  form  which  they  thereby  received.  There 
is  before  us  then  a  class  of  the  most  primitive  ethnological  imple- 
ments of  which  we  have  knowledge,  in  which,  as  in  the  oldest 
known  implement  of  the  human  period,  the  natural  form  of  the 
object  determines  the  use,  rather  than  the  use  the  individual 
form. 

4.  Implements  of  the  shape  of  paper-cutters. 

It  is  natural  that  in  so  large  a  number  of  bone  implements  this 
shape  also  should  be  represented.  Five  belonging  to  two  dif- 
ferent types  have  already  been  discussed  under  the  grave  finds. 
Altogether  the  amount  of  material  of  this  character  obtained 
from  the  upper  strata  of  the  mound  is  remarkably  small.  Only 
a  small  number  of  fragments  were  found,  of  which  only  a  frag- 
ment of  the  point,  1-8803,  from  stratum  VIII  is  represented  in 
fig.  29. 

In  the  deeper  strata  the  case  was  entirely  different.  There 
are  from  these  layers  no  perfect  implements,  only  fragments,  but 
their  number  is  in  proportion  to  what  one  would  expect,  or  even 
greater.  Some  of  these  show  a  variety  of  form  and  a  degree  of 
ornamentation  which  was  hardly  to  be  expected  among  the  finds 
of  the  luoiind  in  general  and  least  of  all  among  the  specimens 
obtained  from  the  low^er  strata.  Little  as  the  well  foniied 
implements,  which  the  fragments  figured  in  pi.  7,  figs.  11-17, 
represent,  appear  to  resemble  the  rough  awl-like  implements  on 
the  same  plate  and  w  liich  have  been  derived  from  the  same  strata, 
there  is  yet  no  doul)t  possil)le  that  the  two  classes  of  implements 
must  have  been  used  by  the  same  people. 

We  have  therefore  the  task,  instead  of  denying  the  contrast, 
of  suggesting  some  solution  for  it. 


1907]  Uhle — The  Emeryville  Shellmound.  73 

These  paper-cutter  like  implements  have  a  moderate  width 
and  a  thickness  of  only  one-thirty-second  to  one-sixteenth  of  an 
inch.  They  are  well  worked  in  all  cases.  The  objects  shown  in 
%.  12,  1-8989  (IX),  fig.  14,  1-8987  (IX),  fig.  15,  1-8920  (VIII), 
fig.  13, 1-8988  (IX),  of  plate  7  show  artistic  forms  differing  from 
the  simpler  types  of  implements.  Perforation,  which  in  the  bone 
implements  of  the  mound  is  very  infrequent,  is  in  these  imple- 
ments alone  found  four  times  on  the  lower  end.  The  notch  on 
the  lower  end  of  pi.  7,  fig.  14,  probably  the  remnant  of  a  circular 
section,  is  very  artistic  and  one  notices  also  curved  lines  on  the 
surface  about  it.  These  show  the  geometric  accuracy  with  which 
this  work  was  carried  out.  1-8986,  pi.  7,  fig.  16,  from  stratum 
IX,  is  the  only  piece  of  bone  among  all  those  recovered  from  the 
mound  Avhich  has  been  engraved  with  geometric  figures. 

Out  of  the  strongly  varying  yet  constantly  artistic  characters 
of  these  fragments  we  are  justified  in  drawing  the  conclusion 
that  a  much  greater  variety  of  implements  of  this  form  was  used 
by  these  people.  The  variations  seem  to  have  been  influenced 
largely  by  personal  taste. 

1-8875,  fig.  11,  represents  a  small  fine  point  of  a  well  formed 
small  paper-cutter-like  implement. 

1-8989,  fig.  12,  stratum  IX,  is  a  quadrate  piece  of  bone  cut 
out  of  a  ' '  paper-cutter ' '  and  was  possibly  used  in  play. 

1-8988,  fig.  13,  stratum  IX,  is  the  lower  end  of  a  "paper- 
cutter"  with  parallel  sides  and  obliquely  truncated  at  the  lower 
end  with  a  remarkably  perfect  perforation. 

1-8987,  fig.  14,  stratum  IX,  is  the  lower  part  of  a  thin  "pa- 
per-cutter" with  a  semi-circular  notch.  The  base  show's  broken 
surfaces  next  the  notch. 

1-8920,  fig.  15,  stratum  VIII,  the  lower,  triangular  part  of  a 
' '  paper-cutter, ' '  -which  has  been  very  broad  and  thin,  has  a  small 
perforation. 

1-8986,  fig.  16,  stratum  IX,  the  middle  fragment  of  a  well- 
worked  ' '  paper-cutter ' '  ornamented  with  geometric  figures. 

1-8984,  fig.  17,  stratum  IX,  is  the  oblong  upper  part  of  a  very 
thin,  well-worked  "paper-cutter"  with  a  perforation.  The  upper 
part  is  broken  oft'. 

At  this  place  there  should  probably  be  mentioned  also  the 


74        University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      Vol.  7 

small  bar  of  bone,  1-8975,  fig.  18,  stratum  IX,  as  it  also  comes 
from  this  stratum.  This  is  likewise  an  uncommon  form  of  imple- 
ment. It  is  small  and  well  worked,  although  not  of  the  paper- 
cutter  type.  It  is  oval  in  cross  section  and  has  a  small  paper- 
cutter-like  lower  end  which  shows  that  it  was  fastened  to  some 
other  object.    Its  upper  end  is  broken. 

5.  Pointed  Implements. 

In  the  middle  strata  of  the  mound  there  were  found  about 
eight  pointed  bones,  of  which  the  types  are  figured  in  pi.  9,  figs. 
11-16. 

1-8869,  pi.  9,  fig.  11,  stratum  VII,  is  21^  inches  long,  oval  in 
cross  section  and  having  an  inferiorly  constricted  neck.  There 
is  a  small  hook  on  the  lower  end  of  the  broad  side.  A  small  frac- 
ture on  the  opposite  side  appears  to  indicate  that  there  were 
originally  two  such  hooks. 

1-8868,  fig.  12,  stratum  VIII,  is  two  inches  long.  This  speci- 
men is  in  general  similar  to  the  one  just  mentioned.  There  is 
only  one  hook  at  the  lower  end.  The  side  opposite  is  without  a 
hook  and  is  unbroken.  Similar  is  1-8738,  from  stratum  V.  An 
analogous  object  is  figured  by  Moorehead,  page  273,  fig.  412,  No. 
3,  from  Stockton  Channel. 

1-8916,  fig.  13,  stratum  VIII,  2  inches  long,  is  similar  to  the 
last  with  the  differences  that  the  small  broad,  flat  hook  points  to- 
wai-d  the  broad  side,  and  that  the  pointed  end  has  been  smoothed 
by  use.  On  this  end  there  are  also  small  traces  of  asphaltum 
which  indicate  that  a  cord  had  sometime  been  wound  about  it 
to  fasten  it  to  some  other  object. 

1-8917,  fig.  14,  stratum  Vila  or  VIII,  ly-m  inches  long  with 
a  rounded  cross  section,  is  slightly  curved  and  gradually  narrows 
towards  the  lower  point.  The  convex  side  shows  a  slight  flat- 
tening. 

1-8870,  fig.  15,  stratum  Vila  or  VIII,  is  V/j  inches  long,  but 
the  lower  end  is  incomplete.  The  cross  section  is  oval  to  tlat;  it 
sliows  on  the  hi'oad  side  a  sloping  groove. 

1-8694,  fig.  16,  stratum  IV,  an  implement  2-)^,j  inches  long, 
is  typically  knife-like  in  its  torm  in  so  far  as  it  has  a  broad  blade- 
like part.  It  is  sharp  on  one  side,  blunt  on  the  other  and  rounded 
at  the  upper  end.     It  is  bent  well  backward.    At  the  lower  end  it 


1907]  Uhle. — The  Emen/ville  Shellmound.  75 

nms  out  into  a  small  neck-liko  portion  which  is  extended  in  the 
same  line  with  the  back  of  the  implement  and  is  broadened  at  the 
base. 

The  objects  already  described  and  shown  in  fi^'s.  11,  13,  14,  15, 
and  16  of  plate  9  represent  the  principal  types.  Amon^'  these 
the  knife-like  object,  fi^.  16,  is,  judging  from  its  shape,  evidently 
to  be  separated  from  the  others.^''*  Numerous  other  knives  of 
obsidian  occur  in  addition  to  this  one  of  bone. 

Of  the  remaining,  fig.  14  represents  a  typical  arrow  point 
made  of  bone  such  as  are  used  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  e.g., 
in  South  America.  The  convex,  slightly  flattened  side  was  laid 
against  the  slightly  truncated  upper  end  of  the  shaft  of  the  arrow 
and  was  fastened  to  it  by  numerous  coils  of  cord.  The  figure  of 
a  similar  arrow  point  from  the  Swiss  Pile  Dwellings  is  given  in 
Ranke's  work,  Vol.  II,  pp.  5-19,  fig.  11.  This  shows  very  well  the 
manner  of  attachment. 

The  similarity  of  the  remaining  bone  points,  figs.  11,  13,  14, 
15,  is  so  significant  that  a  similar  use  is  to  be  ascribed  to  them. 
That  they  were  used  as  fishhooks,  which  might  be  conjectured, 
there  appears  to  be  less  evidence.  It  is  worth  considering  that 
Mr.  Meredith  found  on  the  breast  of  a  single  skeleton  51  objects 
of  the  form  shown  in  pi.  9,  fig.  14.  In  another  ease  28  such  ob- 
jects were  found.^^^  In  the  first  case,  with  the  skeleton  in  addi- 
tion to  these  were  found  two  long  spear  spoints  with  barbs  such 
as  are  used  on  the  northwest  coast  of  America.  A  large  number 
of  objects  from  one  grave  and  the  association  with  other  analo- 
gous objects  supports  very  strongly  the  idea  that  the  pointed 
bones  were  used  for  the  points  of  arrows.  The  neck  of  these 
points  was  the  portion  about  which  the  cord  was  wound  and  about 
this  was  laid  a  small  quantity  of  asphaltum  to  hold  the  cord  in 
place,  while  the  hooks  had  the  object  of  preventing  the  cord  from 
sliding  off  from  the  neck.  The  form  of  the  hooks  varies  but 
slightly.     This  suggests  the  prominent  hooks  at  the  base  of  the 


'■'*  Compare  kuifo-like  "hide-scrapers"  of  bone  used  by  the  Eskimo  of 
Behring  Straits  aud  figured  by  E.  W.  Nelson  in  the  18th  Annual  Keport  of 
the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1896-97,  Part  I,  pi.  50,  figs.  3-6. 

"°  In  Moorehead,  I.  c,  p.  272.  Two  similar  objects  from  South  America 
are  figured  by  F.  W.  Putnam,  I.  c,  ]il.  11,  figs.  10,  11,  and  are  described 
(p.  227)  as  fishhooks. 


76        University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.    [Vol.  7 

arrow  points  of  stone.  In  a  certain  Avay  these  arrow  points  may 
possibly  be  considered  as  a  middle  form  between  long  bone  points 
provided  with  barbs,  such  as  were  used  by  the  Eskimo,  and  the 
Indian  arrow  points  of  stone.  In  this  connection  it  is  worth  noting 
that  Mr.  Meredith  finds  them  in  association  with  such  bone  points 
(also  with  a  lip-plug  such  as  are  used  on  the  northwest  coast  of 
America) .  The  form  of  the  Indian  stone  arrow-heads  might  have 
been  imitated  in  the  North  in  other  materials. 

That  the  analogy  with  the  more  northerly  races  is  not  limited 
to  the  burial  layers  of  the  mound  from  which  the  pointed  imple- 
ments, pi.  9,  figs.  11,  15,  were  found  is  indicated  by  the  object, 
pi.  7,  fig.  12,  which  was  found  in  the  cremation  layer,  No.  2. 


3t 

Figs.  30  and  31,  X  %.  Notched  bones  perhaps  used  in  net-making  or 
weaving. 

6.  Saw-like  notched  bones. 

The  excavations  furnish  twelve  objects  of  this  type  of  imple- 
ment, of  which  perhaps  half  were  from  stratum  II.  The  remain- 
der were  found  from  the  lower  strata  up  to  the  eighth.  Quite  a 
number  of  the  objects  from  stratum  II  were  calcined,  an  evidence 
that  they  were  deemed  of  value  in  life  since  they  were  burned 
with  the  dead. 

The  best  preserved  type  of  this  implement,  of  which  in  most 
cases  only  siiKill  fragments  were  found,  is  shown  in  1-8898,  pi.  9, 
fig.  17,  stratum  VIII. 

Nearly  all  of  these  objects  have  a  stereotyped  form,  being 
made  from  the  shoulder  blade  of  some  large  mammal,  probably 
the  deer.  One,  however,  seems  to  have  been  made  from  a  bird 
bone  (1-8900,  fig.  30,  stratum  VIII).  On  the  specimen  shown  in 
pi,  9,  fig.  17,  about  half  of  the  length  is  taken  up  by  the  rounded 
handle,  using  the  ridge-like  end  of  the  bone  for  this  purpose. 
The  (itluM-  end  (if  Hh'  object  is  incomplete,  buL  according  to  the 


1907]  Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmound.  77 

form  in  other  specimons  it  was  probably  cut  off  squarely  at  the 
end.  At  any  rate  only  a  small  piece  of  the  implement  is  missing 
since  the  teeth  cut  into  the  thin  convex  margin  of  the  bone  are 
complete  to  the  number  of  15.  The  ridge-like  edge  runs  next  to 
the  row  of  teeth,  giving  the  implement  greater  firmness.  The 
teeth  vary  considerably  in  different  objects  in  size,  in  form,  and 
in  regularity  (compare  1-8573,  fig.  31,  from  stratum  II).  They 
also  vary  in  degree  of  wear,  which  so  far  as  observed  is  some- 
times seen  on  the  edge  and  sometimes  in  the  spaces  between  the 
teeth.  On  one  specimen  the  opposite  edges  of  the  l)one  are  sim- 
ilarly toothed,  although  one  side  of  the  bone  was  quite  thick.  A 
smoothing  or  polishing  of  the  object  is  never  to  be  noticed,  ex- 
cepting on  the  under  side. 

Similar  objects  have  frequently  been  found  in  California. 
Single  fragments  are  figured  by  Moorehead.'"**'  As  similar  as 
these  objects  are  to  saws,  it  is  probable  that  they  were  not  used  as 
such.  The  name  "sachos"  given  to  these  implements  by  the 
Napa  Indians,  who  possibly  did  not  know  their  former  use,  is  not 
to  be  taken  as  the  slightest  support  for  the  idea  that  they  were 
actual  saws.  In  the  first  place  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  mention 
that  the  concept  ''saw"  is  missing  among  the  Indians.  The 
form  of  these  objects  and  the  general  state  of  wear  as  already 
described  shows  that  they  were  not  and  could  not  have  been  used 
as  saws.  It  is  remarkable  enough  that  saw-like  implements 
made  of  bone  have  a  distribution  much  more  extended  than  the 
Californian  region.  Since  these  occurrences  are  mostly  local  and 
entirely  independent  of  each  other,  these  implements  must  in 
their  production  have  served  certain  practical  aims.  Why,  how- 
ever, saws  made  of  bone  should  have  such  a  wide  distributi(m  it  is 
difficult  to  understand. 

An  analogous  implement  has  been  found  in  a  shellmound  in 
Massachusetts  and  figured  by  J.  Wyman.  He  also  in  his  descrip- 
tion has  shown  that  judging  from  the  width  of  this  implement 
it  could  not  have  been  used  as  a  saw.^^* 


''"  Moorehead,  I.  c,  p.  236,  fig.  36.3. 

138  rpjjg  gtone  points  with  saw-like  teeth  on  the  edge  do  not  represent  tech- 
nically such  an  implement  as  a  saw  since  the  toothing  is  only  a  result  of  the 
method  of  reproduction. 


78         University  of  California  Fuhlications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

Another  saw-like  toothed  bone  implement  was  found  in  the 
cave  dwellings  in  Franconia  (Bavaria),  which  were  inhabited  in 
the  early  neolithic  period.  This  has  been  described  by  Ranke  as 
probably  used  in  weaving.^^* 

An  implement  having  almost  identical  form  as  this  just  de- 
scribed above  was  figured  by  J.  Murdock.  This  object  was  ob- 
tained from  the  Pt.  Barrow  Eskimo  and  was  made  of  the  shoulder 
blade  of  a  reindeer.  He  received  it  as  a  model  of  a  saw  said  to 
have  been  used  before  the  introduction  of  iron. 

After  having  made  inquiries  for  the  primitive  form  of  the 
implement,  this  specimen  doubtless  was  made  for  him.^^"  His 
paper  also  contains  a  figure  of  another  saw-like  implement,  of 
about  twice  the  size  of  the  firet,  made  of  antler.  There  was  with 
this  a  kind  of  shuttle  and  a  form  of  weaver's  sword  with  the  state- 
ment that  these  three  implements  had  been  used  in  weaving 
feather  girdles.  In  watching  the  process  of  making  these  belts 
he  had,  however,  not  seen  any  of  these  three  implements. ^*^  In 
the  opinion  of  the  writer  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  materially 
the  accuracy  of  the  statements  concerning  the  use  of  these  imple- 
ments by  the  Eskimo.  It  therefore  contains  the  key  to  the  under- 
standing of  all  the  remaining  forms  of  this  type  of  saw-like  im- 
plements found  in  the  northern  region.  And  this  explanation 
may  be  extended  to  the  wrongly  determined  Californian  bone 
saws.  In  our  opinion  the  bone  implement  first  figured  by  J.  Mur- 
dock shows  simply  that  the  Eskimo  remembered  having  had  such 
an  imj^Iement  and  that  they  gave  to  him  the  impression  that  it 
had  been  used  in  the  way  in  which  the  investigator  was  inclined 
to  think  it  ought  to  have  been  used.  It  appears  that  Ranke  was 
on  the  right  track  when  he  supposed  the  Frankish  bone  implement 
to  have  been  used  in  some  processes  of  weaving.  In  like  manner 
all  of  the  Californian  bone  saws  agree  thoroughly  with  this  sup- 
posed use.^*-  In  California  many  valuable  feather  girdles  have 
been  made,  in  the  weaving  of  which  these  bone  implements  may 


"•Am.  Naturalist,  1868,  Vol.  I,  pi.  15,  fig.  15,  583. 
""  Dcr  Mcnsch,  IJ,  p.  558-560. 

'"  Ninth  Annual   Report  of  the   Bureau  of  Ethnology,   1887-88,  p.   175, 
fig.  147. 

'*-l.  c,  ]>.  :'A7,  fig.  323. 


1907] 


Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Sliellmound. 


79 


have  been  used.^*"  The  exact  mode  of  their  use  is  not  yet  deter- 
mined, but  it  is  to  be  hoped,  however,  that  even  this  may  some 
time  or  other  be  discovered. 

7.  Various  Implements  and  Objects  of  Bone. 

It  naturally  occurs  that  in  a  sliellmound  in  which  so  many 
implements  of  bone  have  been  preserved  there  would  be  a 
number  of  bone  objects  the  use  of  which  can  only  be  imperfectly 
determined.  These  implements  are  in  part  possibly  only  at- 
tempts to  work  bone,  in  part  they  are  actually  implements  which 
had  a  use  somewhat  different  from  that  of  the  other  forms  and  a 
use  for  which  the  character  of  the  material  especially  fitted  them. 


32  Vi3^  33 

Figs.  32  and  33.     X  %.     Bone  artifacts  of  unknown  use. 

Many  fragments  of  bone  show  only  a  few  cuts  or  marks  as 
indications  that  they  were  worked.  In  one  case,  1-8527,  fig.  32, 
stratum  IX,  the  marks  which  vary  someAvhat  from  those  in  the 
other  strata  may  represent  an  implement  of  the  paper-cutter 
type.  The  point  is  in  this  case  calcined,  as  is  also  true  of  many 
other  implements.  This  is  evidently  done  intentionally,  possibly 
in  order  to  work  the  bone  more  easily.  Other  common  bone  frag- 
ments look  as  if  they  had  occasionally  been  used  as  implements 
when  they  happened  to  have  the  right  form,  and  that  they  were 
not  intentionall}'  worked  into  this  shape.  Still  other  bone  frag- 
ments show  knife-like  incisions  on  the  other  edges,  as,  for  ex- 


'"  Recently  a  great  deal  has  been  written  about  the  relation  of  widely 
separated  peoples  to  each  other.  And  this  relationship  has  usually  followed 
definite  geographic  lines.  It  is,  however,  worth  while  to  notice  the  great 
similarity  between  the  implements  of  eastern  and  western  United  States,  and 
those  of  the  caves  of  Switzerland  and  of  the  Arctic  region.  ^Nlany  imple- 
ments of  similar  type  and  use  are  to  be  found  in  these  regions,  implements 
which  are  not  discovered  in  any  other  portion  of  the  world. 


80        University  of  Ccdifornia  PubUcations  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

ample,  that  shown  in  fisr.  33,  1-8877,  stratum  Vila.  They  are 
probabty  not  to  be  considered  as  marks  of  dog's  teeth,  as  which 
these  could  also  be  determined,  for  they  are  generally  very  nu- 
merous in  one  place  or  else  they  show  exceeding  regularity  as  if 
made  intentionally. 

The  shellmound  dwellers  did  not  fail  to  notice  the  peculiar 
character  of  the  tubular  bones,  which  when  cut  into  sections  are 
easily  made  into  small  receptacles,  similar  to  the  cane  plant,  which 
is  used  in  a  similar  manner  by  the  inhabitants  of  tropical  regions 
(for  instance  by  the  ancient  Peruvians).  Many  such  small  ob- 
jects with  differing  proportions  were  found,  two  of  which  are 
shown  in  fig.  34,  1-8922,  stratum  VIII ;  and  fig.  35,  1-9076,  stra- 
tum X. 

Implements  of  Antler. 

For  many  Icinds  of  implements  antler  is  particularly  valuable 
on  account  of  its  hardness.    For  this  reason  a  number  of  imple- 
ments of  this  character  have  been  found  in  the  shellmound ;  they 
are,  however,  not  so  numerous  as  those  of  bone.    They  are  usually 
made  of  deer  or  elk  antler. 
1.  Chisel-like  Implements. 
Of  these  there  are  two  principal  types. 
a.  Actual  chisels. 

About  half  of  the  objects  of  antler  are  to  be  considered  as 
complete  implements.  These  are  shown  in  pi.  8,  figs.  2a  and  2b, 
1-8892,  stratum  VIII;  figs.  3a  and  36,  1-8821,  from  stratum 
Vila,  represent  the  two  subspecies  of  the  same,  viz.,  broad  and 
narrow  chisels.  The  main  difference  between  the  two  is  simply 
one  of  size  and  proportion. 

The  broad  chisels  ai-e  represented  by  about  ten  objects,  which 
belong  to  the  middle  and  lower  strata  of  the  mound  only,  down 
to  the  Xth  stratum.  Whether  this  is  accidental  or  caused  by 
other  reasons  remains  undecided.  These  objects  are  from  four 
and  one-half  to  five  and  one-half  inches  long,  to  one  and  three- 
fourths  inches  broad,  and  even  as  thick  as  one  and  one-quarter 
inches.  Oval  in  cross  section,  they  slightly  diminish  toward  the 
lower  end.  Frequently  they  pass  one  to  two  inches  above  the 
lower  end  into  the  flat,  knife-like,  one-sided  slope,  ending  in  a 
semi-circular  edge  about  one  inch  broad.     The  sloping  surface  as 


1907]  Uhle. — The  Emeryville  Shellmonnd.  81 

well  as  the  polished  sides  of  the  implement  frequently  have  im- 
pressions dne  to  actnal  nse  upon  hard  objects.  In  a  similar  man- 
ner, the  straight  surface  is  broken  by  the  use  of  a  hammer  which 
was  struck  upon  it. 

The  narrow  chisels  are  represented  only  by  one  complete  speci- 
men (pi.  8,  fig.  3)  and  two  fragments  of  the  knife-edge.  The 
latter  were  found  between  strata  Vila  and  IX.  The  complete 
chisel  is  only  three  and  nine-sixteenths  inches  long;  while  it  is 
one  and  three-sixteenths  inches  broad  at  the  upper  end,  and  but 
seven-sixteenths  of  an  inch  thick,  it  nevertheless  diminishes  to- 
ward the  lower  end  to  a  breadth  of  three-eighths  of  an  inch  at  the 
knife-edge.  The  slope  of  the  one  side  toward  the  latter  is  by  far 
shorter  than  that  of  the  broad  chisel,  and  yet  the  same  indications 
of  its  use  with  a  hammer  can  be  found.  The  curvature  of  the 
cross  section  of  this  implement  corresponds  to  the  natural  form 
of  the  antler  from  which  it  was  made. 

Such  chisels^**  partly  took  the  place  of  an  axe  in  woodwork 
among  the  Indians,  just  as,  for  example,  this  was  still  the  case 
among  the  Hupa  during  the  eighties  of  the  last  century,^*^  in  the 
construction  of  houses.  The  Klamaths  in  Oregon  still  make  use 
of  such  chisels.  The  better  known  implements  of  recent  times 
possess  only  the  natural  surface  of  the  original  antler. 

It  is  of  interest  to  know  that  implements  of  exactly  the  same 
kind  were  found  in  the  shellmounds  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  e.g., 
in  Maine."^ 

b.  Chisel-like  Implements  of  varying  forms. 

Implement  1-8730,  pi.  8,  fig.  1,  found  in  stratum  V,  has  a 
length  of  nine  and  three-fourths  inches  and  a  breadth  of  one  and 
seven-eighths  and  one  and  five-sixteenth  inches.  It  will  be  seen 
that  though  of  greater  length  and  breadth  it  is  flatter  than  the 
preceding.  On  account  of  its  origin  from  a  complete  antler  it  is 
curved  along  its  length,  and  slightly  curved  in  on  its  concave 
side.     At  the  lower  end  of  the  latter  it  is  siven  a  straight  slant 


'"  A  little  information  on  this  point  is  brought  together  by  the  writer  in 
Mitth.  der  Anthrop.  Ges.  Wien.,  1886,  Vol.  16. 

'"  A  similar  one  from  San  Joaqiiin  county  has  been  illustrated  by  Moore- 
head,  I.  c,  p.  271,  fig.  410,  No.  2.  Cf.  also  F.  W.  Putnam,  /.  c,  p.  229,  figs. 
106-108,  wedge-like  implements  from  southern  California. 

""Cf.  Mason,  Smithson.  Reports,  1886,  I,  pi.  xviii,  fig.  19,  with  10,  208. 


82        University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.    [Vol.  7 

for  three  and  a  quarter  inches  in  the  diameter  of  the  breadth. 
Its  upper  end  shows  the  same  signs  of  use  with  a  hammer,  while 
the  slanting  surface  is  greatly  worn  on  the  sides.  This  makes  it 
probable  that  the  use  of  this  tool  was  in  many  respects  different 
from  the  preceding.    It  was  possibly  used  as  a  lever. 

For  this  also  a  parallel  exists  in  the  form  of  an  apparently 
identical  implement  from  the  shellmounds  in  Maine. ^*'  As  re- 
gards form,  certain  implements  of  the  bones  of  cattle  found  in  the 
caves  of  French  Switzerland  are  similar  to  this  object.  Ranch 
calls  them  "'leather-cutters"  (Lederschneidemesser).^*® 

2.  Implements  of  antlers  with  dull,  rounded  ends. 

Three  such  objects  have  been  found.  One  of  them  is  seven 
and  one-eighth  inches  long,  diminishing,  horn-like,  toward  the 
blunt  point.  It  came  from  the  middle  stratum  of  the  mound.  It 
is  represented  in  pi.  8,  fig.  7.  Another  is  a  young  branch  of  an 
antler,  and  the  third  is  a  mere  fragment.  The  use  of  these  ob- 
jects, which  were  doubtless  implements,  cannot  be  conjectured. 

3.  Pointed  Implements. 

Only  one  fragmentary  blade  exists,  about  one  inch  long, 

4.  Straight,  truncated  Implements. 

Two  specimens  of  this  kind  came  from  stratum  V  of  the 
mound.  They  are  wanting  in  other  parts  of  the  mound.  One  of 
them  is  reproduced  in  pi.  8,  fig.  4.  It  diminishes,  horn-like,  to- 
ward the  lower  end.  Here  it  is  truncated  abruptly,  having  a 
breadth  of  five-eighths  inches.  Unfortunately  the  upper  end  is 
incomplete.  The  other  implement,  1-8722,  is  absolutely  identical 
with  the  one  just  described. 

The  collection  contains  also  a  fragmentary  bone  tool,  1-9066, 
which  was  found  in  stratum  X.  It  may  have  corresponded  to 
the  peculiar  implement,  reproduced  by  J.  Wyman,^*®  pi.  14,  fig.  3 
(with  the  spiral  cuts  at  the  upper  end),  which  was  found  in  the 
shellmounds  of  Massachusetts. 


'"Cf.  J.  Wynian,  /.  c,  pi.  IV,  figs.  2  and  2a  with  !>.  583.  Ch.  A.  Al)bott, 
who  represents  the  same  iniplenient,  I.  c,  p.  211,  fig.  19(i,  says  Massachusetts 
jirobably  by  mistake. 

"'J.  Wyman,  I.  c,  |.l.  .X  I  V,  fig.  1,  with  |).  .Wii.  Cf.  also  ( ;h.  A.  Abbott, 
I.  c,  p.  211,  fig.  195.  The  implement  is  inifoitiinHtely  represented  in  Ixitli 
places  sidewise  in  an  unfavorable  manner. 

'^"Z.  c,  IF,  p.  r,r,G. 


1907] 


Vlile. — The  Emeryville  ShellinowuJ. 


83 


Iijipiciiieiits  of  Tooth. 

Only  one  object  made  of  tooth  was  found,  viz.,  1-8736,  fij>'.  36, 
in  stfatiiii)  V.  It  is  a  bear's  tooth  perforated  at  the  root,  serving 
the  purpose  of  ornament  or  amulet,  and  corresponds  exactly  to 
the  typical  illustration  of  the  one  from  New  Jersey;'''"  here  Ab- 
bott emphasizes  the  fact  that  such  ornaments  were  the  most 
common  amonji  the  earlier  and  present-day  Indians. 


3S 


Figs.  34  and  35.     X  Vj-    Fragments  of  bones.     Fig.  36.     X  %.     A  bear- 
tooth  ornament. 


C.  Implements  made  of  shells. 

The  objects  of  this  material  mentioned  amon»  the  grave-finds 
are  supplemented  by  two  implements,  one  of  which  came  from  the 
Ilnd,  the  other  from  the  Vlllth  stratum  of  the  mound.  Both  are 
made  of  the  haliotis  shell,  the  material  preferred  for  ornamental 
purposes  by  the  Indians  throughout  the  country.  Recovered  in 
different  strata,  they  differ  completely  with  respect  to  their  form. 
Yet,  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  the  finds  we  are  not  permitted  to 
advance  the  opinion  that  the  form  of  one  was  limited  in  its  stra- 
tum to  the  complete  exclusion  of  the  other. 

1-8632,  fig.  37,  from  stratum  II,  is  about  as  long  as  broad, 
but  rounded  off  at  the  lower  part,  while  the  upper  rim  is  cut  off! 
straight.  The  three-sixteenths  inch  wide  perforations  in  one  row 
on  the  upper  rim  served  for  the  purpose  of  suspending. 


Of.  F.  W.  Putnam,  I.  c,  pi.  XJ,  fig.  18. 


84        University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  7 

1-9106,  fio-.  38,  from  stratum  VIII,  represents  the  broken  edfte 
of  a  larger  ornamental  plate  which  was  originally  triangular  or 
of  a  quadrilateral  shape.  The  edge  is  now  trapezoidal.  Tavo  of 
the  four  sides  still  show  the  well-woi-ked  rims,  ornamented  with 


37 

Fig.  37.      X  %.     Fig.  38.     X  %.     Haliotis  shell  ornaments. 

indentations,  of  the  original  ornamental  plate.     The  two  other 
sides  are  rough  surfaces  of  fracture. ^^' 


"""  rii.  A.  Abbott,  /.  c,  p.  406,  fig.  388. 


Issued  Jane  Jo,  1907. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  2. 

Emery\'ille  Shellmound  seen  from  the  Bay.  The  cut  made  in  the  side  of 
the  mound  had  been  filled  when  the  photograph  was  taken,  but  the  site  of  the 
excavation  is  seen  in  the  light  area  on  the  western  slope. 


[86] 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  3. 

Topographic  map   of  the  Emeryville   Shellmound.      Contour   intervals   5 
feet.    Scale:  1  inch  =  60  feet. 


[88] 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  4. 

Fig.  1.  Cross-section  of  the  western  foot  of  Emeryville  Shellmonnd, 
showing  the  extent  of  the  excavations.     Scale:  1  inch  =  19.4  feet. 

1.  Alluvial  claj'. 

2.  Thin  gravel  layer. 

3.  Basement  clay,  the  stratum  upon  which  the  mound  and  the  gravel 
layer  rest. 

Fig.  2.  Cross-seetion  through  the  principal  excavated  portion  of  the 
western  foot  of  the  Emeryville  Shellniound,  illustrating  the  stratification  of 
the  deposits.    Scale:  1  inch  =  6.46  feet. 

I-X,  Eeeognized  strata  of  the  mound. 

A,  B,  C.     Sections  of  the  excavation  designated  in  text. 


iKll 


CAL,    PUB,   m.  ARCH     i  ETH 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  5. 
The  open  cut  on  the  western  side  of  the  Emeryville  Shellmound. 


[92] 


UNIV.   CAL.    PUB.   AM.   ARCH.   &  ETH. 


VOL.   7,    PL.   ^ 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  6. 

Figs.  1-21.  Flaked  cherts  principally  from  the  lower  layers  of  the 
mound.  Some  of  these,  as  represented  by  figs.  4,  5,  6,  11,  19,  and  20,  are 
possibly  finished  implements.  The  others  are  perhaps  in  part  rejects,  but 
all  were  probably  used  to  some  extent.     X  %o- 

Following  are  the  accession  numbers  of  the  specimens,  as  catalogued  in 
the  museum  of  the  Department  of  Anthropology. 


Fig. 

1  (1-9007) 

Fig. 

2  (1-9095) 

Fig. 

3  (1-8551) 

Fig. 

4  (1-9031) 

Fig. 

5  (1-9005) 

Fig. 

6  (1-8961) 

Fig. 

7  (1-9043) 

Fig. 

8  (1-9023) 

Fig. 

9  (1-9053) 

Fig. 

10  (1-9085) 

Fig. 

11  ( 

1-8966) 

Fig. 

12  ( 

1-9012) 

Fig. 

13 

1-9040) 

Fig. 

14  ( 

1-8857) 

Fig. 

16 

1-?) 

Fig. 

17  ( 

1-9093) 

Fig. 

18 

1-9012) 

Fig. 

19 

1-8815) 

Fig. 

20 

'1-8929) 

Fig. 

21 

,1-8756) 

[341 


UNIV,   CAL.    PUB,   AM,   ARCH,   &  ETH, 


VOL.   7,    PL,   5 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  7. 

Rough  bone  iniplonients  and  ornaments  largely  from  tlie  lower  layers  of 
the  mound.     X  %. 

Fig.  10  (1-9072) 

Fig.  11  (1-8875  ) 

Fig.  12  (1-8989) 

Fig.  13  (1-8988) 

Fig.  14  (1-8987) 

Fig.  15  (1-89-20) 

Fig.  16  (1-8986) 

Fig.  17  (1-8984) 

Fig.  18  (1-8975) 


Fig. 

1   (1-S983) 

Fig. 

2   (1-8871) 

Fig. 

3   (1-9067) 

Fig. 

4   (1-9068) 

Fig. 

5   (1-8980) 

Fig. 

6   (1-8919) 

Fig. 

7   (1-8918) 

Fig. 

8   (1-8979) 

Fig. 

9   (1-8996) 

[96J 


W 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  8. 

Implements  of   bone  and  antler  from  the   Emeryville   mound.     Figures 
about  one-half  natural  size. 

Fig.     1   (1-8730)  Fig.  5   (1-8780) 

Figs.  2a  and  2&  (1-8892)  Fig.  6   (1-8778) 

Figs.  3a  and  36  (1-8821)  Fig.  7   (1-8889) 
Fig.     4  (1-?) 


[98] 


UNIV.   CAL.    PUB,   AM.   ARCH.   &  ETH. 


VOL.   7,    PL.  8 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  9. 


Bone  implements  from  the  Emeryville  mound.     X  9io- 


Fig. 

1 

(1-8522) 

Fig. 

2 

(1-8686) 

Fig. 

3 

(1-8897) 

Fig. 

4 

(1-8972) 

Fig. 

5 

(1-8692) 

Fig. 

6 

(1-8985) 

Fig. 

7 

(1-8831) 

Fig. 

8 

(1-8895) 

Fig. 

9 

(1-8901) 

Fig.  10  (1-8735) 

Fig.  11  (1-8869) 

Fig.  12  (1-8868) 

Fig.  13  (1-8916) 

Fig.  14  (1-8917) 

Fig.  15  (1-8870) 

Fig.  16  (1-8694) 

Fig.  17  (1-8898) 


[100] 


UNIV.   CAL.    PUB,   AM.   ARCH.   &  ETH, 


VOL   7,    PL.   9 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  10. 

Stone  implements  principally  from  the  upper  layers  of  the  mound.     Fig- 
ures about  three-fifths  natural  size. 

Fig.     9  (1-8925) 

Fig.  10  (1-8610) 

Fig.  11  (1-8633) 

Fig.  12  (1-8536) 

Fig.  13  (1-8676) 

Fig.  14  (1-8883) 

Fig.  15  (1-8926) 

Fig.  16  (1-8634) 


Fig. 

1   (1-8613) 

Fig. 

2   (1-8611) 

Fig. 

3   (1-8615) 

Fig. 

4   (1-8718) 

Fig. 

5   (1-8614) 

Fig. 

6   (1-8618) 

Fig. 

7   (1-8719) 

Fig. 

8   (1-8616) 

102] 


UNIV.   CAL.    PUB.   AM.   ARCH.   &  ETH. 


VOL.   7,    PL.   10 


#^    ^ 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  11. 

Ornaments  priuci[)all.y  from  the  upper  and  middle  layers  of  the  mound. 
Natural  size. 

Fig.     1    (1-8777)  Fig.     9   (1-8791) 

Pig.     2   (1-8784)  Fig.  10   (1-?) 

Fig.     3   (1-8879)  Fig.  11   (1-?) 

Fig.     4   (1-8775)  Fig.  12   (1-8843) 

Figs.  5fl  and  56  (1-1)  Fig.  13  (1-8702) 

Figs.  6a  and  6&  (1-8788)  Fig.  14  (7-8743) 

Fig.  7  (1-?)  Figs.  15,  16,  and  17  (1-8776) 

Fig.  8  (1-8783)  Fig.  18  (1-8766) 


104] 


UNIV.   CAL.    PUB.   AM.   ARCH.   &  ETH. 


VOL.   7,    PL.    II 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  12. 

Various  artifacts  principally  from  the  upper  layers  of  the  mound.     Fig- 
ures 1  to  4,  X  % ;  figures  5  to  13,  X  %. 

Figs,  la  and  1&   (1-8624)  Fig.  8   (1-8630) 

Figs.  2a  and  25  (1-8622)  Fig.  9   (1-8711) 

Figs,  3o  and  3&  (1-8623)  Fig.  10   (1-8608) 

Figs.  4a  and  46  (1-8626)  Fig.  11   (1-8620) 

Fig.     5   (1-8850)  Figs.  12a  and  126  (1-8671) 

Fig.     6   (1-8631)  Fig.  13   (1-8628) 

Fig.     7   (1-8535) 


[106] 


UNIV.   CAL,    PUB.   AM.   ARCH.   &  ETH. 


VOL.    7,    PL.    12 


^^T^' 

>^-* 


/q 


^Z:' 


8 


,:^:^ 

^•i--\'>^% 


/2.( 


'^\^ 


M^^ 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA    PUBLICATIONS-(CONTINUED) 

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by  G.  A.  Reisner  (in  preparation). 

Vol.  7.  The  Coptic  Cemeteries  of  Naga-ed-Der,  by  A.  C.  Mace  (in  prep- 
aration). 

ANTHROPOLOGICAL  MEMOIRS.     (Quarto). 

Vol.  I.     Explorations  in  Peru,  by  Max  Uhle  (in  preparation). 
No.  1.    The  Ruins  of  Moche. 
No.  2.     Huamachuco,  Chincha,  lea. 
No.  3.    The  Inca  Buildings  of  the  Valley  of  Pisco. 

SPECIAL  VOLUMES. 

The  Book  of  the  Life  of  the  Ancient  Mexicans,  containing  an  account  of  their 
rites  and  superstitions;  an  anonymous  Hispano-American  manuscript 
preserved  in  the  Biblioteca  Nazionale  Centrale,  Florence,  Italy.  Repro- 
duced in  fac-simile,  with  introduction,  translation,  and  commentary, 
by  Zelia  Nuttall. 

Part  I.     Preface,    Introduction,    and    80    Fac-simile    plates    in 

colors.     1903. 
Part  II.  Translation  and  Commentary.     (In  press). 
Price  for  the  two  parts $25.00 

Facsimile  of  a  Map  of  the  City  and  Valley  of  Mexico,  by  Alonzo  de  Santa 
Cruz,  Cosmographer  of  Philip  II  of  Spain.  Explanatory  text  by  Zelia 
Nuttall.     Map  in  7  sheets,  17X20  inches,     (in  preparation). 

The  Department  of  Anthropology,  Its  History  and  Plan,  1905.  Sent  free 
on  application  to  the  Department,  or  to  the  University  Press. 


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